painting + drawing (2019-2003)
Statement for the 2019 Chautauqua exhibition: Truth and Consequences
Dead Bird Landscape (Ophelia)
Vessel of Manifest Destiny! (3rd renovation-inside out and altered)
Truth and Consequences………. While certainly open for interpretation, the works touch on that theme. The first connection to the theme is the imagery. A dead bird is potentially symbolic of so many things- death of beauty, environmental disaster, loss of innocence, and perhaps even Christ. We live with the consequences of our collective brutal humanity. Is it the artist’s role to bring messages of truth?
But at the same time, it is a fairly goofy image.
And the Vessel of Manifest Destiny! is not so glorious (unlike many of the myths that fueled the development of our nation). It has a somewhat functional appearance, though it certainly doesn’t appear all that useful. What are we to do with it now?
Then again……….it could just be about the pleasure of making and re-making. My creative process is one of experimentation and re-use, and the artworks wear their truth (the history of their own creation) “on their sleeves”.