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I am, therefore God exists. VI

Nicole Page-Smith, Dunedin studio, 2011,

New Zealand

But there are many things that are often

joined together necessarily, which are classified as being contingently 

joined by many people who do not notice the relation between them;

for example, this proposition: 'I am, therefore God exists.' Also, 

'I understand, therefore I have a mind that is distinct from the body,'

etc. Finally, it should be noted that, in the case of many propositions

that are necessary, their converse is contingent; for example, although

I conclude with certainty that God exists from the fact that I am, it is

not the case that I can affirm that I exist from the fact that God is.

Rene Descartes

I am, therefore God exists. V

Nicole Page-Smith, Dunedin studio, 2011,

New Zealand

Then to London where I stayed for three months, off and on, also going to Paris, Holland and Belgium. I loved the energy of London for contemporary art, it felt like anything was possible because there was so much going on. Exhibitions of Pedro Cabrita Reis, Monika Sosnowska, Jannis Kounellis, Cindy Sherman, George Condo, William Eggleston, Robert Frank and Bruce Nauman, the list goes on, another trip included Fischli & Weiss and David Smith at the Tate. When my feet touch European soil, I feel like I am running. The Traces du Sacre at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the Glyptothek, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Alte Pinakothek, Isa Genzken in Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Caspar David Friedrich in Berlin and a show in Hamburg, Rogier van der Weyden in Frankfurt, Christian Schad in Vienna, Messerschmidt and so forth. Upon return, it takes quite a lot to absorb all the information while I continue to make art, read, write and think. Eventually I gained the courage to approach some international art professionals from established museums, including the Tate Modern, sending out about twenty letters and not really expecting to hear back from anyone, I received several major responses. Feeling like I was dreaming, I communicated the response to the 'so called' art professionals of my own two countries but far from the celebration one might expect, the response was either ignored, trashed or laughed at. So, in the end, who are they?

Pedro Cabrita Reis

Cindy Sherman

Isa Genzken

Fischli & Weiss

Nicole Page-Smith, Dunedin studio, 2011, 

New Zealand

I am, therefore God exists. IV

Nicole Page-Smith, Balthazar's Dream series, 2003,

Dunedin studio, 2005

The love affair with Europe continued and I have now travelled there several times, even winning an 'around-the-world' trip from the supermarket in 2006, going to Athens and Delphi, among other places. The first trip was in 2004, I arrived in Rome and just felt like I was home at long last. I had seven museums and several churches to visit in four days because of my study project and loved the place. Then to Naples for an incredible Caravaggio show at the Capodimonte Museum, The National Archeological Museum and the Museo Cappella Sansevero. Florence was the sculptural highlight with the Bargello and Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Donatello, Settignano, Luca della Robbia, I felt like I was in Heaven. Bologna for Niccolo dell'Arca's Lamentation and Venice, such a wonderful city.

Saint Cecilia, Stefano Maderno, 1599, 

Basilica di Santa Cecelia in Trastevere, Rome

Il Cristo Velato, 1753, Giuseppe Sanmartino,

Museo Cappella Sansevero, Naples

Donatello/Desiderio da Settignano, 

Martelli Saint John, ca. 1440-1457,

Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

Niccolo dell'Arca, Lamentation (detail), c. 1485,

Church of Santa Maria della Vita, Bologna

Nicole Page-Smith, Untitled, 2004-2005