Sunday, September 19, 2010

Independence Reigns

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt" 
-Kurt Vonnegut

The State of Independence is my new self-portrait. A little different for me, I gotta say. I painted the found object, for one. Normally I leave them natural, or the way I found them when I picked them up off the street. And usually I am dealing in bodies. For a self-portrait to have no bodies or body parts is a stretch for me, personally. I had been thinking about other symbols of freedom besides the ravens/birds...and I came up with the ladder. I thought that it referenced my thinking, "up and OUT". So on the lower third, you'll find various pointy things like tacks, nails and sandpaper. Then I actually burned the bottom of the piece. It's that personal hell that I need to escape from, that basement of despair and "dependence".

The middle section is a calming period before the beauty of the aqua (my favorite color. I also think it's the most powerful of all blue shades, except maybe navy). The quote above is used in these two sections. I used a well-known color combination with the use of red, white and blue, reminiscent of the American flag. I am thinking this piece will be part of an upcoming flag series exploring themes found in the Declaration of Independence. I have been thinking about using these ideas lately, and I am living in a rather historic area now. Making this piece has made me think further about "freedoms", for myself and others...



The State of Independence



4 comments:

Brian Sylvester said...

Shana,

This is a powerful piece! I agree with you about the aqua - it's one of my favorites to use, and one of the most peaceful. Thank you for this!

Enjoy your week,
Brian

shana goetsch said...

thanks so much Brian. I struggled with this one a bit. i am trying to challenge myself...i'm not sure how i feel about this yet or where i'm going with it all....like i'm on the edge of something...better? we'll see.
thanks though! you have a good week too!

Danielle Garzelloni said...

At first glance, I did not see a flag, but a red and white wall with the blue sky above. It’s as though you are literally escaping some confined space. I think the title is especially appropriate and the flag reference is subtle because you switched up the blue and red hues. Nice work, I like it a lot.

shana goetsch said...

thanks! we had crit today, and i will be continuing to work on it a bit, based on suggestions. It's a good start, and i might be going much BIGGER on any others i do.
i'm glad you got the confinement. really glad.