I hadn't seen "Black Snake" in quite some time, and had forgotten just how much I liked it. I was visiting a friend who happens to have a large collection of my work, this being one of them. We walked around to the different rooms with my paintings in them, and when we came to this one, I stood in front of it for quite some time. My friend began to talk about the painting, and what it meant to her. She talked about the snake and how it could mean so many things: betrayal, heartbreak, money problems, rivalry, revenge. She felt that each girl was reacting differently to the implied threat of what the snake meant. I listened, fascinated. When I made the painting I had photographed my daughter, Ramey, when she was four with her younger friend, Emily. They had been making faces, using their hands to twist their features into bizarre shapes. Once I started combining the paint with the photographs of the girls, I realized that they needed something to look at, so I added the little black snake. I thought what my friend brought to the image was more interesting than what I had thought about when I made the painting, and I liked that it spoke in a stronger, clearer voice living at her house than it had in mine.
"I thought what my friend brought to the image was far more interesting than what I was thinking about when I made the painting, and I liked that it spoke in a stronger, clearer voice living at her house than it had in mine."
ReplyDeleteI find this so true, Holly...often what people see in my art goes far beyond my thoughts when I am in the midst of creation. Conversely, I understand that when another artist's piece speaks to me, it is often what I read into it, coming from the place where I stand.
xxo
Dear Holly,
ReplyDeleteI relate to what you chat about in the discussion of your work. Most of the time I tell a story through my work. I would go on and on on my blog about what I had created and what the story is for me. An artist friend asked me to not explain the story. He wanted to discover it for himself. Sometimes his stories are better than the one I had in mind when creating. Now I am about 50/50 on telling and not telling. Personlly I love reading what you have to say as I just click with your narrative.
I love your work and am so glad I discovered it. I keep coming back, almost every day, to look at two pieces in particular, the wolf with the red cactus and also the horse collage. I find them spectacular works. Thanks for your creative being.