“The more cultivated a people becomes, the more decoration
disappears…” declared modernists a century ago. Yearning to
become a cultivated society ufettered by gender roles, we have been
vanquishing everything nonessential from all but our most private
spaces ever since. Gone are the scrolled, the brightly patterned and
the hand carved objects of questionable use. Do we miss them?
These paper lanterns and other assemblages, made from ephemera
collected over the years in my studio, are part confession and part
revolt against a lingering prejudice regarding ornamentation. They
are also a revelation that my public persona as a feminist and a
modern “edited” person is not the whole story of me.
I assert that pretty things are necessary to the human soul. They form
a visual language of particular intimacy that can express joy, loss,
irony and even anger; a mother tongue we lost as we grew up and,
barely remembering, we long to get back.
disappears…” declared modernists a century ago. Yearning to
become a cultivated society ufettered by gender roles, we have been
vanquishing everything nonessential from all but our most private
spaces ever since. Gone are the scrolled, the brightly patterned and
the hand carved objects of questionable use. Do we miss them?
These paper lanterns and other assemblages, made from ephemera
collected over the years in my studio, are part confession and part
revolt against a lingering prejudice regarding ornamentation. They
are also a revelation that my public persona as a feminist and a
modern “edited” person is not the whole story of me.
I assert that pretty things are necessary to the human soul. They form
a visual language of particular intimacy that can express joy, loss,
irony and even anger; a mother tongue we lost as we grew up and,
barely remembering, we long to get back.
- Artist Susan Lunt
"Is She Pretty?" opens Friday January 20th at The Studio, 84 Union Avenue Laconia NH. There is a reception for the artist beginning at 7pm, with live music by OMA performing "Funhouse Slide Parade". The exhibit will be on view through February 29th. The Studio is open Wednesday - Friday 10 to 5, Saturday 10 to 3; other times by chance or appointment. For more information call 603-455-8008.
No comments:
Post a Comment