Inspiration Statement: To commemorate the World War I Centennial.
“We have not sought this reckoning, we have done our utmost to avoid it; but now that it has been forced upon us it is imperative that it should be a thorough reckoning,” H.G. Wells
This series, Strive On, and Have Faith was inspired by Henri Matisse, French (1869–1954), Bowl of Apples on a Table, 1916,Oil on Canvas. Chrysler Museum of Art.
The idea for this project came when I observed this painting and felt the presence of a camouflaged WWI German MG 08 machinegun. Intuitively, I feel this painting whispering of the destructive nature of man’s inhumanity to man. In a contemporary context, I have reinterpreted and illustrated this concept in a more personalized way.
Background: Bowl of Apples on a Table
- Painted in 1916 during World War 1 which lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918.
- Reflects the disruption that the war brought to his artistic conscience.
- Lived in Paris during the German Occupation.
- Painted during so called “experimental” years of 1914-1916
- Matisse wrestled with the challenges of Cubism.
Background: Strive On, and Have Faith
- This project aimed to imagine, reinterpret, and produce 3 contemporary visual art works based on Henri Matisse’s 1916 oil painting Bowl of Apples on a Table in the style that he may have executed during his Neo- Impressionist (Divisionism), Postimpressionist, and Fauvist works.
“Turn Around, V-IV-I (The Blues Turnaround), ”
“Line of Sight”
“Warning Shots”
