"Free yourself from distraction, walk the path in front of you." - Marcus Aurelius
Much of Aurelius' Meditations is dedicated to the pursuit of focus. The mind wrestles with distraction constantly (maybe you're doing it right now?), and while we know what we ought to be doing, it's easy to wander from idle thought to idle thought. Whether it be the desire for instant gratification, the temptation to multi-task, the anxiety of the unknown, or simply a lack of will to focus, the mind's ability to derail itself from what it wants to achieve is boundless.
In this illustration, a forest path recedes into the trees. Rather than being present in nature, the viewer's thoughts wander to less idyllic concerns, as the slender trees momentarily transform into the outline of a barcode. The tension between the natural and the commercial creates a dissonance and a challenge to the viewer to recenter on what truly matters.
View our other Aurelius Prints here.
Obvious State is a creative studio and publisher founded by Nichole and Evan Robertson in 2011.
We make bold, illustrated editions and art drawn from the classics.
Our books and prints are available in our shop and in bookstores and boutiques nationwide.
Our work has been featured at The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Writers Museum, The Emily Dickinson Museum, The Library of Congress, The Getty Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art and more.
Every piece is illustrated by Evan Robertson — a single artistic vision applied to some of the greatest works ever written.
Provocative visuals paired with punctuated language, full of surprising visual metaphors, subtext, and insider nudges.
Our pocket editions are portable art objects made to collect, share, and inspire moments of quiet reflection in an overstimulated digital world.
We’re drawn to language that has stood the test of time, insights that strike a chord, poetry that stretches the imagination, and philosophy that prompts critical thinking.
