After the initial impact of a painting, one can then see how it unfolds or attaches to what one knows or thinks. The impact of a painting is instantaneous – a shock occurs when time and energy becomes visible. What is transient and invisible in daily life, and in Sisyphus’s task, becomes able to be seen in the painting. The virtue of visual art, especially in this form, is that it holds many repetitions and returns in place to be seen, and felt all at once. The practice of painting the grid squares is comparable to Sisyphus’s absurd task. With this painting, I was interested in using the grid as a way to embody a Sisyphean struggle – the grid requires perseverance, consistent effort, and an ability to engage thoughtfully with a monotonous and tedious task.

At the end of each day Sisyphus returns down the mountain so that at dawn he can push the rock back up again. Once at the top, the rock rolls back down of its own weight to the bottom.

It was thought that there was nothing more dreadful than a repetitive and meaningless task. Sisyphus is punished by the gods for his chronic deceitfulness and condemned to roll a rock up a mountain each day. He once put death in chains, escaped from the underworld, and he is said to have tricked the gods and stole their secrets. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is a wise and clever King. Sisyphus – 48″ x 60″ – oil on canvas – 2014 – Michael Burris Johnson

Sisyphus painting