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Weekly Work |
Art And Anecdotes |
(was Daily Drawing) |
Entertaining · Amusing · Interesting. And Free.
| 1998 · Year 1 · No. 42 · Nov. 19 | ISSN 1437-1383 |
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Entertaining · Amusing · Interesting. And Free.
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please email me weekly-work@art-quarter.com with the appropriate subject) |
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This month, I started a celebration of Joe Doe on the occasion of being the ArtQuest® featured artist of the month. The painting to be given away was selected two weeks ago, showing a couple of heads only. Last week, I selected a large triptych. This week I chose a middle sized painting called "Family".
Actually, I didn't title my paintings at all until recently. That's why they all have numbers. Here on the Internet, it seems that titles would be nice. Therefore, I gave myself a kick and tried to invent something moderately meaningful. With this one, I did't have so much of a problem. "Family" seems quite appropriate.
This painting is absolutely peculiar and typical for my way of production. I didn't plan to paint a family, this isn't a portray of any family I know, in particular it isn't a portray of my own family (I have two daughters).
547 · Homage to Max
Original Work |
I've had years to contemplate about my kind of painting. The most appropriate approach so far seems to be the comparison with dreams. As we all know, all kinds of experiences, remembrances, images show up in dreams and form something more or less meaningful.
Psychologists and common sense hold that dreams may tell you something very important about your life, something that your conscious does not know about yet. Freud was very much impressed from the fact that from old age people sensed that God may preferrably speak through dreams.
Now if I read this painting right, it surely shows a happy family. Notice the relation of the kids, the relation of the father to the kids, the relation of the mother to the father -- or should I rather say: the relation of the wife to the husband? The only paintings I know which come close to this one are two paintings of Rembrandt of his high age.
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One of them shows a young couple without children. Little is known about it. Several titles have been proposed, biblical scenes related to it, a portray has been supposed also. Nothing is really relevant. The intimacy of the painting is overwhelming and depicts something genuinely human.
Of course, this scene is also conditioned by time and society. Obviously, the man is active, the woman passive, the man is demanding, the woman reluctant. Compare this with my family painting. You'll see the difference.
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The other painting of Rembrandt is much more conventional, too. The children are related to the mother only, the father is a figure attached to the background without relation to either children or mother, and the mother is related to her youngest child, definitely not to her husband.
This is clearly different with my painting. The children are a group of themselves, apart from the parents, which belong together in the first place. The woman is attached to the man, as it should, the children being proof and celebration of their connection.
Last year, more than 10 years after I produced the painting, I learnt from Bert Hellinger, that this is the ideal constellation of a family. A family with this structure is stable and can survive. The parents are in love and the children feel good.
519 · Could Be Pablo
Original Work by Joe Doe in Gallery Clay at Art Quarter click image to see different views 8*6*10 cm · 3x3x4" · Terracotta on plaster socle · US$ 1,479 · Inquiry No hidden costs: shipping, handling, taxes or duties included. 3 month no questions asked money back guarantee. Phone 049-5223-820-582 (fax -584) or (US) |
My family painting is interesting with respect to the shift in family relations of our time. Families aren't what they were any longer these days. The roles of women and men alike have been challenged and changed a lot. Many articles and books have been written about this subject. We all have experienced being a man or a woman, wife or husband, mother or father. We were part of this great experiment of our time.
I don't know the outcome of an essay about this subject, but I know, I never would achieve anything in the direction of this painting. I am experienced and wisened up a little, but my intellect could never conceive such a message as is delivered by this painting.
It does not express my experience, obviously, as my marriage was divorced after nearly 20 years recently. I loved my wife and still love her, although divorced, but I wouldn't say that I ever felt the way the painting shows. Remember, dreams don't tell you what you know. They may show a way. Obviously, this painting rather expresses a longing.
I could ramble on at length about the painting proper, what it means, what you can see, but I won't. You can see for yourself, and this will be much more satisfying in my opinion. Tell me, if I'm wrong.
Boat
Original Work
Cibaprint · US$ 379 · Inquiry No hidden costs: shipping, handling, taxes or duties included. 3 month no questions asked money back guarantee. Phone 049-5223-820-582 (fax -584) or (US) |
By the way: Did you notice that heads in my paintings are, as a rule, almost life sized? So that, if a painting is small, you'll see little more than heads, if it is larger, you'll see more of the body. I don't plan it, it just occured to me one day as a matter of fact. Of course, if the scale is tiny, then I have to diminish. Wouldn't make much sense to show a single eye only.
Time to close this issue, time to remind you of the November contest at ArtQuest®. If you haven't done yet, surf over to ArtQuest and sign up for the draw end of November!
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Also, I made another screensaver with business rhyme script screens, rhymes by Bud Dauphin. Try it if you're on Win!
All the best 'til next time. Yours truly,
PS:
If you have enjoyed this issue, please support my efforts and recommend it
to a friend. For your convenience, I prepared both a mailto:
link at the top and a Recommend-It button at the bottom.
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© 1998,1999 · Werner Stürenburg · Germany · Tel. 0(049)-5744-511-574 · Fax -575 |
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