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ArtScene February 5, 1991 Janice Lowry: Star Gazer The Art Works March, 1991 Kathy Zimmerer 3235 Kallin Ave Long Beach, CA 90808 Janice Lowry: Star Gazer Janice Lowry continues to create intensely personal assemblages that reflect the hidden recesses of her psyche. Her new "Star Gazer" series is a magical compendium of fantasy, reality, science and emotion. Lowry was given a series of small, hand built, wooden figures or "sand toys" and astronomical books and charts from an artist friend whose father, a geologist, builder and amateur astronomer, had compiled the collection before he passed away. The poetic beauty of this highly personalized collection gave Lowry a rich source of inspiration for her new assemblages. She also spends much time in Joshua Tree Monument where the stars are bright and clear. This experience added additional fuel to her imagination. Also influential was Norman Mailer's book, "Ancient Evenings", for she began to understand the significance of stars to ancient cultures. The simple, geometric wooden figure or "star gazer" is used by Lowry as a metaphor for an archetypal astronomer who is alternately "sleeping, dreaming and dying" in her compositions. The "star gazer" is a multi-faceted symbol. The figure not only reflects his original creator, the amateur astronomer who lovingly compiled notes, charts and beautifully written observations on the heavens but also the astronomers of the past who looked to the stars for answers. Lowry's contemporary