IRENE BELKNAP
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Physics And Other Possibilities
Dressed In Words
This series grew out of a previous one, "Wrapped In Stories." The idea came to me when during a conversation with a friend, I thought that none of the things she was saying about herself were true. I thought about the way we wrap ourselves in our own story that in fact we create and that is how we present ourselves to the world.
The Dressed In Words Series uses words both as the texture of the apparel and as a thematic expansion; an illumination of the theme of the painting.
Envelopes has two figures. The text is a stream of consciousness play on the word envelope and the word envelop written by the artist.
Two Poems uses the poetry of Pablo Neruda from his Love, Ten Poems. It is not possible to read the specific words in this piece
Venezia is about Venice. The texts were carefully chosen to reflect both a descriptive, poetic homage to the city but also to convey some special place; one that evokes a personal and private and profound experience for the visitor that allows for it. This is much the same as the journey that can be taken by the viewer of a painting.
Gifts the word is used both in the sense of a present; a physical object wrapped and presented to another and in the sense of gift, talent. The idea that a talent must have motion to stay alive is based on Lewis Hyde's book The Gift, Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property Many and varied are the aspects of a gift. Some might be silent, subtle moments that are meaningful only to the individual. Perhaps the texts will spark the imagination of the viewer to reflect on his or her own experience.
Ribbons shows a figure dressed in ribbons and each story on each ribbon is a story about a ribbon.
The House of Belonging a two figure piece, uses the poetry of David Whyte and plays with the idea of a solitary state and the completion of self when one finds the one one was meant to love.
Ithaka is about the journey of one's life and the figure's skirt is dressed in the poem of that name by Constantine Cavafy. It was recently suggested that there is a reference to the Black Madonna in this piece.
Letters is a celebration of the alphabet and the way a letter forms a word, forms a sentence, forms a meaning.
Time explores the nature of time in its text. Much of the inspiration is based on Thomas Mann's writing in Magic Mountain as he attempts to describe the experience of the passage of time
Distance explores the subject from both a psychological and physical aspect.
Numbers Like Letters but this time an exploration of numbers to form the texture of the dress.
Beginning, Middle and End the final three paintings in the series are all the parts of a story .
Les Fleurs Painted for my exhibit in Paris, this piece is about flowers whose beauty fades.. Enjoy them while they blossom. The bottom panel has a poem by Pierre Ronsard
© Irene Belknap. FolioLink © Kodexio ™ 2019
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