Ode to Eric

Ode to Eric

Medium: Standard paper, magazine cut outs, photographs, rubber cement.

 

This piece was created for a Women in Art History Assignment. Part of attaining an associated Arts degree, you are required to take History in Western Art. In 2013 I was lucky enough to be one of the first students who got to take a new class being offered as an alternative to History in Western Art. I really enjoyed the emphasis of  learning more about the many women who stepped before me to be heard. Often times when you do take a course like History of Western Art you only get to learn about a handful of the women. For me as a women, I just felt like it was really nice to know about so many, in the many different eras throughout history. Women really have always been that fiery spark underneath it all. A voice that would not be silenced and it's quite interesting to watch how that voice evolved. 

While we were studying the period around 60's - 70's we learned about Audrey Flack. A woman famous for her photorealism with painting. She would create the massive murals, often times by looking at a photograph. She created images so immaculately clean, they created a painting that looked just like a photograph. A lot of these painting were memorials for loved ones or famous people that had passed. They all had key components that were almost always found in each painting. Objects that centered around time, jewelry, a calendar, food,  and something personal. They looked like a scene stolen right from the subjects personal spaces. For our assignment we were to created a Audrey Flack inspired piece of art, using magazine cut out, and photos. Our subject was to be about someone we had lost that meant a lot to us. I chose my childhood friend Eric Moore who died in a horrible car crash with three other friends. When his family has his memorial, I wasn't able to attend. I felt like this was my way of memorizing Eric even more. I really enjoyed this project, and to this day Audrey Flack is one of my favorite artist that we learned about. I enjoy her work most of all because this is what I strive for. To someday in my life, be capable of creating an image so beautiful and spot on that it looks real.  I truly believe that if I had taken History of Western Art  I would have never been subjected to such a vast catalog of talented women.