resistance
Throughout 2017 I have explored the theme of "resistance." Making art on this subject helps me process the drama, conflict, outrage and turmoil in our country since our 45th President was inaugurated.
Rites of Passage
selected pages from Rites of Passage
September, 2017, Artist's Book, 20 pages, pamphlet stitched, 10" x 10". Paint and ink on Braille.
From childhood, Hillary Clinton strove to be the best at everything. Her ambition burned hot and she believed that hard work would have its rewards. This is a book about Hillary Clinton’s rites of passage – moments filled with triumphant joys and bitter disappointments. Her life and career is shaped by memories and lessons learned from exposing too much of herself – too smart, too plain, too feminist, too financially successful, too capable, too comfortable being her husband’s equal, too willing to forgive her husband’s sins. Because she was smart, she learned to cover over her vulnerabilities and swallowing her anger at the unfair and rough treatment. As she grew older, she downplayed her intellect and spoke in platitudes. Ironically, those who hate her never believed in this good, public Hillary. They will forever remember her as Lady MacBeth with her “consuming ambition, inflexibility of purpose, domination of a pliable husband, and an unsettling lack of tender human feeling, along with the affluent feminist’s contempt for traditional female roles.”[i] In contrast the collective memories of those who supported Hillary will forever see her as a strong, honorable, humanitarian feminist brought down by the male establishment. In Rites of Passage, I’ve mixed real and false memories, assigned words that Hillary may or may not have spoken publicly. True or not, these words and images represent the anger, disappointment and triumph I shared in empathy towards a political figure that I have never met but deeply admired.
[i] Daniel Wattenberg, conservative critic
From childhood, Hillary Clinton strove to be the best at everything. Her ambition burned hot and she believed that hard work would have its rewards. This is a book about Hillary Clinton’s rites of passage – moments filled with triumphant joys and bitter disappointments. Her life and career is shaped by memories and lessons learned from exposing too much of herself – too smart, too plain, too feminist, too financially successful, too capable, too comfortable being her husband’s equal, too willing to forgive her husband’s sins. Because she was smart, she learned to cover over her vulnerabilities and swallowing her anger at the unfair and rough treatment. As she grew older, she downplayed her intellect and spoke in platitudes. Ironically, those who hate her never believed in this good, public Hillary. They will forever remember her as Lady MacBeth with her “consuming ambition, inflexibility of purpose, domination of a pliable husband, and an unsettling lack of tender human feeling, along with the affluent feminist’s contempt for traditional female roles.”[i] In contrast the collective memories of those who supported Hillary will forever see her as a strong, honorable, humanitarian feminist brought down by the male establishment. In Rites of Passage, I’ve mixed real and false memories, assigned words that Hillary may or may not have spoken publicly. True or not, these words and images represent the anger, disappointment and triumph I shared in empathy towards a political figure that I have never met but deeply admired.
[i] Daniel Wattenberg, conservative critic
Erasure
"Erasure III" Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint, 30" x 40"
"Erasure I" Sept 2016 - Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint, 20" x 16."
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"Erasure II" Sept 2016 - Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint, 30" x 40"
"Erasure V" Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint, 20" x 16."
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"Erasure IV" Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint, 11" x 14"
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"Erasure VII" Sept 2016 - Aug 2017. Mixed media with bandaids and acrylic paint, 16" x 20"
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"Erasure VI" Aug 2017. Mixed media with candy wrappers and acrylic paint.
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Late last summer I started a series of Hillary paintings in anticipation of her becoming the first female President. The works were intended to bring a smile and serve as positive antidotes to the vicious, negative attacks on Clinton throughout her campaign. After the election debacle, I did not have the heart to finish these paintings. The canvases sat around in my studio for a year until I couldn't look at them any longer and started to paint over them. Serendipitously, a friend visited my studio and remarked on my symbolic act of erasure. It turned out to be the right way to express what has happened, not just to Hillary but to women's rights around the world.
Funhouse Passages
Selected Pages from Funhouse Passages
August, 2017, Artist's Book, 20 pages, pamphlet stitched, 10.5" x 10.5". Paint and ink on Braille. This Braille book explores "passages" in two forms: the shuffling of White House personnel in alarming succession and verbal and written passages associated with these individuals. I selected words that best fit the characters, whether Senate testimony, on-the-record media interviews, declarations of Trump loyalty, fake media coverage or tweets. See complete book online: www.yumpu.com/xx/document/view/59379304/fun-house-passages-2017
First 100 Days
Selected Pages From First 100 Days
July, 2017. Artists' Book, 112 pages, Coptic Binding. 21" W(open) x 10.5"H x 2"D. Using the bumpy pages of Braille magazines as my canvas, I have selected and drawn an event that has occurred over each of the first 100 plus days of the Presidency. Over days, weeks and months I painted over the white Braille pages and drew, stenciled and numbered the days. More than ever before, families, friends and the community are irredeemably divided by political affiliations and beliefs. The Braille pages, difficult to draw on, difficult to keep lines straight, are reminders of the acute blindness that has overcome the President, his followers, the opposition, the media, the politicans and US residents- legal and otherwise. It represents fear and anger in the pitch darkness of fake news and fumbling attempts to decipher the bombshells of each new day. The President may seem isolated, but we are not much different.
Pussy Grabs Back
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May, 2017. Collage: cut up Sailor Moon girl hero posters and glossy pink paper. 18" x 24" framed.
American Blues
April, 2017. Indigo-dyed handmade paper and handmade Japanese momi paper. 32.5" width x 76" length.
An alt flag for dark times held together with safety pins. The pins represent individuals willing to stand in solidarity with vulnerable groups maligned by Trump.
An alt flag for dark times held together with safety pins. The pins represent individuals willing to stand in solidarity with vulnerable groups maligned by Trump.
Little Furious Monster (Voodoo Doll for Democrats)
February, 2017. Inkjet print on fabric with doll hair, pins and paper. Box contains artificial turf and flag fragment. 7" width x 9" height x 1" thick.
All those needles of resistance add up and not entirely through black magic either.
All those needles of resistance add up and not entirely through black magic either.
She Bleeds Garnets and Rubies
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September, 2016. Beaded, stained and embroidered sanitary napkins. Each piece 10"x 10" including frame.
The Holy Trinity of Megyn Kelly’s menstrual blood transformed into sacred jewels by Trump’s petulant curse, ‘You could see there was blood coming out of her wherever.’
The Holy Trinity of Megyn Kelly’s menstrual blood transformed into sacred jewels by Trump’s petulant curse, ‘You could see there was blood coming out of her wherever.’
