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| © 2010 Karen F Rose oil on canvas |
Have you ever studied a painting and wondered. What's the narrative here? Just WHAT is the artist saying to me?
In this original oil painting I created for the Art and Apparatus exhibit at the IceHouse Gallery earlier this year, I included a number of seemingly unrelated objects - a hammer, a cryptic handwritten note, a large scholarly leather bound book, and an egg, gently cradled in a hand, (a wooden carved hand) all lit with a somewhat mysterious glow.
Does each object represent something other than it's physical reality? Is my representation of an egg symbolic of something else?
The title of the painting is "The Discovery Process".
To a writer, a naturalist, a parent, a social worker, a scientist, a lawyer, a teacher, a politician, a doctor, and an artist - there can be different meanings and interpretations.
What questions does the painting pose?
What do you see in the painting? Click on comments and tell me your thoughts.
5 comments:
I see something precious in the hand, precariously balanced, perhaps about to fall. The hammer is there to break it open in case it doesn't fall.
Something is about to break open. There's a real creative tension.
That's what I see.
To me, the hand is the scariest part of the whole painting. Yes, the hammer threatens, but the hand is off the body and, as you say, wooden. It's stiff and you know it can't protect the egg.
I would love to hear your story about this. Perhaps in a follow-up post??
The books represent knowledge, the egg is life, fragility, held in the hand may represent our ability to hold our destiny in our hands,
The hammer, a tool, can be used to build or destroy.
The juxtaposition of the hand and the hammer suggest our ability to create or destroy what is precious to us, life, knowledge.
Good job Karen, presenting your work and creating a dialogue. Are you familiar with the practice of Visual Thinking? It is a great way to develop a conversation around a work of art. I also love that the hand in your piece is not a hand, but a sculpture of a hand. Part of the still life, compelling.
I love the disparate elements of the painting and the eerie white light cast by the egg. How these objects are related is something to ponder!
Your blog is looking great, Karen. It looks like you've incorporated all the suggestions from class.
And I agree with Alyson; a follow-up would be great.
Thanks Cynthia, Alyson, Nanci and Pam for commenting.
A friend who is a painter laments that when people not familiar with her abstract art don't understand it.
her response to the them is...Well, what do you see?
She says it's more about her process.
We have discussed how we find a "story"... something to ponder in paintings.
Each of us goes through a discovery process in our lives, sometimes joyful, sometimes painful and many times private. I thought it a challenge to create this painting with those thoughts in mind.
Nanci, yes I am familiar with the process of visual thinking. I volunteered as a docent at a local museum and it was truly a wonderful experience.
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