"Flesh and Blood," power and manipulation

I’ll admit it: I’m mostly here for the beheading.

Artemisia Gentileschi, “Judith Slaying Holofernes” at Seattle Art Museum

The experience of seeing “Judith Slaying Holofernes” ranks up there with the first time I saw the Mona Lisa in person. Actually, Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting is a bit more impressive: it’s much larger and dynamic (and bloodier, of course). I definitely got an eyeful at the “Flesh and Blood” exhibit of Renaissance paintings on loan to the Seattle Art Museum.

But besides the color and violence, you can’t miss the underlying themes of power and manipulation. If you know “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” you probably know it’s often linked to Gentileschi’s own rape and trial. There’s another murder scene (of Cain and Abel) in this room, but it looks like a sexual assault.

Lionello Spada, “Cain and Abel”

And although Atalanta is just running a race against Hippomenes, he still overpowers her with the magical golden apples. A princess loses her independence to a cheater tossing around shiny stuff. (Distracted by gold? Aren’t princesses usually SURROUNDED by gold and jewels?)

I know… different time, different place and context. And this traveling exhibit was planned years in advance. But in light of the #metoo movement, it’s even more difficult to separate the pretty pictures from the underlying coercion.

Call for art: "Between the Fold"

Gallery One called. They want to see your book art like right now.

The nationwide call for art is live on Gallery One’s website for the April exhibit “Between the Fold.” What The gallery defines book art as:

“the field of art that involves the creation of works using or referring to structural and conceptual properties of books. While an existing book may be altered to create a work, instead of being merely a printed book about art, works in the genre of book arts are intended as artworks themselves.“

I alter existing books; maybe you fold or cut or use paper in some other way. You do you.

Art book publisher Ed Marquand and I will select the works for this exhibit. (You might know Ed as the guy behind the annual 10x10x10xTieton Exhibition.) The entry deadline is February 23rd. Maybe that sounds far away… but it’s only a few weeks to create a piece from scratch if you work slowly like me. Get moving, and show us your book art submissions!

Connecting with your humanity, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

I don’t know who needs to see this, but it’s still true — more than fifty years after Martin Luther King, Jr. said it:

This MLK holiday weekend, how about we make a conscious effort to do things that make us more human?

Volunteer projects are great — and so is learning more about systemic inequalities that make volunteering so necessary. So is supporting art about fighting for freedom. Art is one of the most human ways to process these big issues — making it, seeing it in person, and even collecting art that moves you. If you’re specifically looking for my art, you’ll find it in Portland until the end of the month. Go: do something that helps you connect with people instead of things.