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sound - mixed media assemblage collage original painting

sound - mixed media assemblage collage original painting

Description

"sound" is part of a series of self portrait, narrative paintings i've been working on called "survival (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)"

you can see the whole series here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/susarto/sets/72157614436426091/

"sound" is approximately 12.5" square, and is framed and wired...ready to hang.

i have built the entire piece from the panel to the frame.

below is my artist's statement about the series.
thanks for looking!!!

©Susan Moloney 2009

Survival
(What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.)

“Survival” is a narrative series of self-portraits. By using mixed media and found objects, I found I am more naturally able to describe my vision in a personal way and, at the same time, relate to a wider audience.

It gives me great satisfaction to build these paintings from the ground up. Working this way involves many steps and I enjoy each one. I am always on the lookout for found objects and old toys. I have acquired a decent collection but if I have an idea and need something specific, I scour all outlets available to me to find that perfect something that demonstrates what I'm saying in the piece. If I can't find it, I will figure out a way to make one myself. I build the wood panels and prime them, as well as photograph scenes, set-ups and objects to portray certain symbols and meanings. Finally, it is a puzzle to put together.

Quite a few years ago, while in art school, I went on a mad search to find "the perfect doll head." I had no idea why. I hadn't been a fan of dolls as a child.
I finally found her, and I put her in an assemblage with sticks and stones. Ever since, I have felt the need to collect doll heads. I'm picky about them but when I find them, I know that they will belong to me. I have given much thought as to why I am drawn to them and have come to the conclusion that they are "survivors".
They have lost everything else, yet they are still here … perhaps having, at one time, been very loved and then sadly abandoned.

Using the doll head (in place of my own) may be interpreted as a mask hiding what is beneath its surface. It also provokes childhood memories, hopefully relating, in some personal way, to the viewer. I use the found objects in the same way, rescuing what was abandoned, and giving them new life and meaning.

Recently, I have visited some abandoned buildings and houses that struck a chord somewhere in my being. There were these amazing structures that, at some time, had life running through their halls and memories filling the rooms ... yet, there they were, empty and inhabitable and long-forgotten. These places won't be here forever; someone will knock them down and build anew. They should be remembered. Recorded. Documented somehow.

The image of the abandoned house in this series is the childhood you can't go back to. The house where you played, grew up, gained wisdom, experienced life. It is still there, inside of you, and should also be remembered, recorded and documented somehow.

These paintings represent the trials that make life difficult, but also hint at the hope and strength that comes from defeating these trials.
Keep going.
Build anew.

Added on Nov 04, 2009