It is important to remember that art is very powerful.
Pretty – yes. Soothing – yes. Inspiring- yes. Thought-provoking- yes. All of those things sometimes.
And, sometimes, just a simple visual image can cut right to the core of an idea. It can communicate in a powerful, visceral way.
No words needed. The image goes straight to the brain.
I’ve certainly experienced this standing before, breathing in, works created by other artists.
And this week in the studio, I’ve encountered that same experience in simple snippets of unfinished pieces of my own work. I want to share them, because I think it’s important to listen to your own work and your own artmaking, and pay attention when something is communicating to you.
The first image is a pair of hands. Bound. As behind one’s back. I created these hands as part of a large artwork I cam creating for an upcoming exhibit sponsored by Studio Art Quilt Associates called “Bearing Witness.” Created in conjunction with a Holocaust Museum and study center, this is going to be a serious, deep look into difficult topics. My work is a large quilt depicting a lynching, seen from several points of view, and including both the victim and the people on the ground looking up at the victim. So, this is not a light-hearted piece.
I have worked on this over several months, and I am glad I have given myself time to do that. Being involved in this subject matter is not something I want to rush or do lightly. I am near the end, finishing and photographing the work.
In depicting the victim, I needed to draw hands accurately. I asked my partner, John, to model his hands for me. We bound his wrists behind his back and I photographed. During the photo session, I was able to block any emotion out, I was intent on getting the angle and the lighting right.
Later, at my computer, I pulled the photo up to examine it and size it. Gut-punch! There were the hands of someone I know and care about it, filling my computer screen, bound as if hanged. It was a terrible sight.
Later, as I worked on stitching the piece, I depicted the hands differently in two panels, each representing a different view of this event.
To be a real person, on the ground, witnessing a real hanging, would be – I am sure I do not have adequate words. Terrible, frightening. My hope is that the power of the visual image will work for those who experience this work and the others in the exhibit. Once the power of an image pierces one’s consciousness, thinking can deepen and change.
(Just a note: I am submitting my work for jurying. I will not know till January whether or not it will be accepted as part of the exhibit.)
A second gut-punch experience happened this week that was very different.
I made a postcard for a project being organized by my friend and fellow artist Karol Kusmaul. As a final project for her MFA in art, Karol is seeking contributions of 4” x 6” post cards – as many as she can get – on the subjects of gun violence or the war in Ukraine, or both. I chose to create one addressing gun violence.
After I created the transfer of text onto the fabric, I took a large brush loaded with red paint and – just like that!—the card was paint-spattered. Just like that. So fast. So unchangeable. That was the gut-punch I experienced as I spattered paint-as blood across a surface. It happened just like that. Everything changed in an instant.
That’s a powerful message. I can imagine a number of postcards with similarly powerful messages all arranged together into one strong work.
This art will give voice to people whose lives are changed in an instant, just like that!
(If you would like to help Karol by making a post card, (Please do!) you can find out the information you need HERE. The deadline for her to receive them is November 1.)
For each of these projects, I will feel honored if some image from work I create becomes even a tiny step in deepening thought or conviction in someone who sees it. That’s a good reason to be in the studio.
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One last thought – last week I wrote about the behind-the scenes process of being in the upcoming Artburst “Poetry in Motion” online exhibit opening October 22. THANK YOU to everyone who showed interest and support. I goofed in some of my facts. I still encourage you to visit Artburststudios.com and find out more. The corrected information about who-gets-what is below. I’m excited about this event. I hope to see ya there.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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