Not unlike many artists, I have had some challenges in the studio during this pandemic. While immersing myself in the creative process of art-making is calming and rejuvenating, it can be a difficult place to get to amidst all of the stress and anxiety of today's world.
I have been taking online workshops and reading, reading, reading! My morning routine includes reading everything, well almost everything, in my many inboxes. This includes the New York Times and Washington Post, our local Chicago Tribune, and of course, many online art news subscriptions.
A recent New York Times article "Faith Ringgold Will Keep Fighting Back" is worth recommending. In it, artist, author, and activist Faith Ringgold talks about how the pandemic, and the death of her husband, have blocked her creatively but the recent protests, spurred on by the murder of George Floyd, have inspired her to return to her studio. Sometimes we need to wait for inspiration, keeping our eyes and ears open enough to identify it.
While Ms. Ringgold is best known for her 'painted story quilts,' some of which hang in the Guggenheim Museum in NYC my attention was drawn to a large scale work that she painted in 1967. “American People Series #20: Die”, currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, (when it reopens) was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Of this painting, she said, “I was just trying to read the times, and to me, everyone was falling down.” The idea that everyone is falling down seems as relevant today as in 1967.
The works in my new series of sculptures get their name from Faith Ringgold's description of this stunning work of art.
So much of our world today is falling down literally and figuratively, in little pieces and big. Scary and dramatic, sudden and unexpected, global, historical, and long-overdue moments offer the opportunity for positive change. Hopefully, we can pick up the pieces and create something new and better.
Follow this link for a video interview of Faith Ringgold in which she talks about “American People Series #20: Die”, her work, and her life. https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/6674
Image Information:
Top: Faith Ringold, “American People Series #20: Die”, 1967. Credit: Faith Ringgold/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York; The Museum of Modern Art
Center: (left) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #2, 2020, 4.5"x5"x5.5", mixed media
(right) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #3, 2020, 4.5"x4"x3", mixed media
Bottom: (left) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #4, 2020, 4”x5.25”x4.25”, mixed media
(right) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #5, 2020,4"x5.25"x3.25", mixed media
I have been taking online workshops and reading, reading, reading! My morning routine includes reading everything, well almost everything, in my many inboxes. This includes the New York Times and Washington Post, our local Chicago Tribune, and of course, many online art news subscriptions.
A recent New York Times article "Faith Ringgold Will Keep Fighting Back" is worth recommending. In it, artist, author, and activist Faith Ringgold talks about how the pandemic, and the death of her husband, have blocked her creatively but the recent protests, spurred on by the murder of George Floyd, have inspired her to return to her studio. Sometimes we need to wait for inspiration, keeping our eyes and ears open enough to identify it.
While Ms. Ringgold is best known for her 'painted story quilts,' some of which hang in the Guggenheim Museum in NYC my attention was drawn to a large scale work that she painted in 1967. “American People Series #20: Die”, currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, (when it reopens) was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. Of this painting, she said, “I was just trying to read the times, and to me, everyone was falling down.” The idea that everyone is falling down seems as relevant today as in 1967.
The works in my new series of sculptures get their name from Faith Ringgold's description of this stunning work of art.
So much of our world today is falling down literally and figuratively, in little pieces and big. Scary and dramatic, sudden and unexpected, global, historical, and long-overdue moments offer the opportunity for positive change. Hopefully, we can pick up the pieces and create something new and better.
Follow this link for a video interview of Faith Ringgold in which she talks about “American People Series #20: Die”, her work, and her life. https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/6674
Image Information:
Top: Faith Ringold, “American People Series #20: Die”, 1967. Credit: Faith Ringgold/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York; The Museum of Modern Art
Center: (left) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #2, 2020, 4.5"x5"x5.5", mixed media
(right) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #3, 2020, 4.5"x4"x3", mixed media
Bottom: (left) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #4, 2020, 4”x5.25”x4.25”, mixed media
(right) Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Falling Down #5, 2020,4"x5.25"x3.25", mixed media
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