The exhibition Paper and Steel will be hung this Friday and open to the public May 5. One of the latest and newest pieces I made for the exhibition is a drawing over an old abstract painting on mulberry paper. The painting was essentially a monoprint using ink and alcohol to create swirling effects on what is often erroneously referred to as “rice paper.” It was created several decades ago, was framed for an exhibition about thirty years ago, and had languished in my closet ever since. It was time to bring the painting out from hiding and into the present.
The new drawing preserves much of the underpainting even though the entire context has been changed. “Who was that Unmasked Man?,” is my new title for the strangely twisted face with thorny branches, riffing on The Lone Ranger question of my early childhood memory. Here the simple face becomes a nightmare. In fact, I found that I was not alone in having Covid-19 nightmares that generally entailed being next to a stranger without a mask.
The small coronaviruses in the picture were made with color pencil. They were purposely made pale and understated. The viewer would have to hunt around to spot them all. “Who was that Unmasked Man,” like many of my paintings for this exhibition, can be read in more than one way, depending upon a person’s Covid perspective. A person intimidated by science deniers, might understand the fear represented. However, it would be possible for those who underplay the severity of our viral crisis to interpret the painting as overreaction and paranoia. It will be interesting if two interpretative camps emerge at the upcoming exhibition.
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