Totem

oil on panel, 36" x 24"
PRIVATE COLLECTION

This follows a similar structure to the painting New Growth(see earlier post). I was reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead while working on this. The painting concerns itself with a similar theme as the book, regarding society building on the achievements of previous societies. The book sees this borrowing as lack of originality, and while I appreciate that aspect, I also see it as a passing on of the torch, so to speak. It really depends on a case by case basis.

The painting is an allegory. The upper hand reaches skyward, striving for excellence, and is concerned with vision as it comes forth from the head above the eye (eye = consciousness). The lower hand seems to struggle to grasp a snowy mountain peak, still making the journey. The African figure has a white eye mask, serving as the opposite of a blindfold, i.e. enlightenment. The black head/neck form a kind of totem pole that is primal, the eyes seeing in the dark (unconscious).

The painting is funny in that it could be about the duality and sense of purpose within one individual, while at the same time can be interpreted as the diversity and ambition of a group: policies and social orders are not always what they appear at face value, but may come from unconscious drives common to a society. [This could lead to discussions regarding Manifest Destiny, the Iraq War, Genesis and the environment, the manipulation of the masses in advertising, etc.] The painting is about the positive aspects of people and culture, but is not in denial that this tension with a more mysterious side exists. There is mystery in the psychology of the individual as well as in the psychology of the larger culture. It is so complex that discussion of it is really out of my range of expertice. I am better at painting the allegory, but this is a window into what I am thinking.

Self-Portrait Spring Azure

oil on panel, 24" x 20"

Oh, look, it's another picture of me! I really don't own any of the "All About Me" line of clothing, but I suppose I might just as well.

It's funny, everytime I wake up, I'm there, and everytime I go to do something, I'm there; it's like I just keep showing up. I can imagine that one impetus behind Cindy Sherman's http://www.cindysherman.com/ work may be to be someone else for a change. Not me, though, I'd rather stick it out, accept my quirks, and wait for the wisdom that is supposed to come with age. If you are bored with me, you can go look at someone else's blog.

I have these rings on the brain lately, and here they have made it into my head and through it. This started as a normal-looking portrait, but it didn't feel finished and was rather mundane. The head was well-defined (all done from imagination rather than direct observation), and the rings were there, but it was too controlled and didn't have enough life in it. I decided to add the spring azure butterfly, one of the first to be seen in spring, and to bring the background into my head and vice versa. It gave the painting the kick it needed as well as added meaning.

I look through the lens of the butterfly wing with one eye (it is the lens of spring optimism) while the other eye is perhaps more "realistic" in its treatment as well. The fluid relationship of the background with my head connotes the interconnectedness of life. The rings have symbolized souls in my other artwork. I had the pleasure of realizing after painting this (this is what I love about making art) that in this case they are also "social circles." The holidays left me attending several gatherings where I enjoyed the company to the fullest. This brings us to another trendy slogan on little girls' shirts: "social butterfly" (accompanied, of course, by a picture of the insect). That is the other meaning of the butterfly here. The gray winter skies of western New York are made to feel like blue spring ones because of the presence of friends.

Hands

18" x 24", charcoal on paper

These drawings are about ideas concerning basic human contact, relationships, intimacy. Whether shaking hands or holding hands, two people are coming from their own perspectives and meeting with expectations that may or may not coincide. Perception, intention, interpretation, touch, what is said and unsaid are all a part of the complex communication surrounding this gesture. The meaning of the act is complex, whether it occurs in business, politics, friendship, or romance.

I decided not to do paintings of these images because I think color would be a detraction. I like that the the figurative elements seem to be made of the same stuff as each other and the space they are in. The drawings are almost like snapshots, isolating the gesture from context for contemplation.

I am a huge Guston fan and I admire the way he unselfconsciously paints hands:

http://www.hmsg.si.edu/images/collection/img_medium/92.18.jpg

http://www.morasha.it/arte/immagini_arte/guston2.jpg

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/EDF/5024PG~Paw-c-1968-Posters.jpg

That goes for Max Beckman, too:

http://www.apollogallery.ie/images/news/171_beckmann4.jpg

http://art-quarter.com/beck/joe/dd/1/31/beckmann-woman.jpg

Self-Portrait with Christoph (Eyes)

oil on panel, 24” x 20”

This obviously owes something to Cubism and Neo-classicism with the way my head looks like a marble bust, painted flatly in light gray-blue and given definition with line. In contrast, Christoph is portrayed in colors more true to life. There is a white shaft of light that goes through one of his eyes, illuminating his nose, neck, and part of his torso. Lines connect my right eye with his as well as to my other eye in profile. This central eye is the artistic eye and it looks like an Egyptian hieroglyphic eye. It is the creative, symbol-making eye that exists in all artists from all cultures throughout history (thus the Greek and Egyptian references).

This painting is a tribute to Christoph as a person close to me who appreciates my work anbd identitiy as an artist. We have a dialogue; we see eye to eye and the shaft of light going through him shows how he is illuminated, mutually benefiting from the artistic process. The surrounding space is a neutral, shimmery gray, simultaneously magical and mundane. It is the day to day stuff from which we kindle sparks in order to make art and romance. Not is always an easy feat in either instance, but worth the effort.