Is art about feeling really good or really feeling? Some people find this piece disturbing. Mai-Liis wrote:
“Oh, my God! You have painted the horror of LBD! I can barely look at it. Don't show it to Wil because he will know....some part of him will know.“
It’s not really about LBD. It’s about my mother, my constant muse, in her last few days.
What about Mai-Liis comment that she can barely look at it? This has been an issue in my artwork over the years anyway: How to express the negative. I have made so many drawings that I have had to put away and hide. Will others mock or reject the work? What do I care? But Do I care? Is art about hiding or showing? Is the best art where you are the most vulnerable to attack? Inside (ourselves) vs. Outside (family, parents, the duties of life): Not sure I really know the difference.
2 comments:
For me, art is an expression just like writing. The best artists are able to give expression to what lies deep within, including grief, anger, horror, and not perhaps feelings which everyone is prepared to face.
I do a dance between avoidance and looking at insanity and dementia. I have learned that it's incredibly difficult to climb out of the pit once I fall in....and escape is never a given.
What does someone's preference for reaching for what keeps them on an even keel have to do with the artist? Absolutely nothing, unless the artist is destitute. When this is the case, wouldn't it be better to be clear on doing what sells, but not confusing it with what is honest, deep-felt expression...the real thing.
Your painting of Mama could also have represented Jack who died at
65 of progressive supracranial palsy. Such a stupid, antiseptic name for a hideous illness. Oh, but this is your blog...not mine.....
Feels like a walnut inside of me. So you take a look, open the two little sides and, wow, there she, just like you painted her.
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