Still Life

Abstract

Artist's statement: "When reflecting on this piece, I believe that it is important to look at both my constructed still life and the painting that resulted from it. These two iterations helped me to translate a paper mache practice from last semester into a two-dimensional paint language, and the ideas that led to their creation were very much rooted in the concepts I was thinking about previously. I am fascinated by the husk and the quietly consuming threat that it raises in the human mind, when you begin to fear that what used to inhabit the empty shell might still be lurking. I like the tensions created when nothing can be definitively pinned down, and the activity of the anxious mind cannot be put neatly to rest. This liminal space between something living and something inanimate was what I was thinking about when I constructed my paper mache still life, and its brittle surface suggests wasp nests and sloughed skin. The outward curve of the support creates a tension in the piece, and the hair that dangles outward from the surface implies that this thing might carry life. The convex and concave forms are vaguely bodily, reinforcing this impression, and the toilet paper element dangles uncomfortably beyond the rectangular frame. When transcribing this sculpture into paint, the piece became very much about color, as I was thinking about the heightening of the senses that is instigated by perceived threat. All of this said, I do not believe that either the still life or the painting actually express anything sinister, due to the airiness of materials in the former and the too-soft shadows and pastel palette of the latter. The softness of the colors blending together creates a dreamy, gently surreal atmosphere and raises questions as to the environment that the thing lives in. The orange background does not resolve this, as the handling of the paint is too scrubby and the description of space too vague. Creating environment that grounds the image and gives weight to my subject matter is something that I need to continue to grapple with in future paintings. In addition, the hair on the left side of the painting begins to look flat and worm-like due to color and thickness of line and this is quite distracting. I addressed this problem more successfully in the next painting with thinner brushstroke and variation of color. The inclusion of my own hair has personal and symbolic meaning, and it is something I wish to continue to investigate and incorporate into my work. I am unsure about whether I think the sculpture or the painting is more successful. I find the textures and forms of the constructed still life to be more evocative in some senses, but the weight that the color, manipulated light, and rendered form provide in the painting are more what I am drawn toward. Increasing this visual weight either physically or illusionistically is something I am interested in doing in the future."

This is a digital photograph of Clare Misko's still life painting. It was submitted as an assignment in the spring 2016 Intermediate/Advanced Painting class taught by Professor Erin Harmon.