The Muses: Pop as an invitation to contemplation
In my ‘Muses’ series, I portray the nine emblematic inspirations of Love (Billie Holiday), the Epic (Bruce Lee), History (Homer), Music (Louis Armstrong), Tragedy (Kurt Vonnegut), Spirituality (Maya Angelou), Humor (Mark Twain), Dance (Martha Graham) and Cosmology (William Blake). I’ve depicted my subjects on rag paper with watercolor and wax crayons while obscuring their faces behind nonsensical graphic texts meant to somewhat frustrate the viewer, obstructing personal connection to the likeness. To me, this illustrates the energetic dilemma of meaningful creative communication amidst the quicksand of mass media consumption and instant gratification.
