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Written by
Dr.  Steven D. Martinson

Professor of German Studies

The University of Arizona

In his collection of paintings on the theme of gold in the modern-day spirit of the old, Shipman repaints contours of the Nordic legends of the Rhine daughters from the perspective of the forces of spiritualized nature at work through the ages into the present day.  The artist combines the colors of life like a pilot ("Schiffmann") who charts a course on the waves of water, not always sure of where he is headed, not always aware of what he and we are about to discover.  The journey upon which we spectator-participants are about to embark will not come full circle.  Instead, it leads to transformation, a transformation of consciousness and self-awareness in the modern-day spirit of the old.    

All of the figures in Shipman’s pictorial opera search for the gold. While some seek a tangible, material object, such as a ring, others understand that the spiritual quality of the gold is the true source of beautiful creation.  It is the spirit of the (g)old that leads one through and beyond the material world and provides a corrective course that leads to new life.

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