HOW WE GOT FROM THIS TO THIS IS HOW I GOT TO THIS
I'm always pondering religion and how it affects my work, because in so much of what I do there are a lot of blatant religious references. I think my POP GOES THE BIBLE show asked as many questions as it answered for me personally. I'm upstate for a few days visiting the family for Easter. I went to Catholic school for grades K-5, it sucked, I hated every second of it and couldn't wait to get to public school, which as it turns out wasn't much better, but I digress. So it's Easter and my Mother (who at 84 has far more energy than I) is doing Easter things, and she put together little Easter baskets for the anticipated dinner guests, which in itself is very sweet and suddenly I had an artistic epiphany!!!
Take one part Of This and add one part of this…
…And you end up with this…
Or this…
Everything seemed very clear and a lot of what I do in my work suddenly became more clear in my head. As I looked at all the shiny candies wrapped in bright, colored foil paper I was taken with how much they all looked like my paintings, and mixed with the images of Christ on a cross that were drilled into my head by vicious, frustrated Nuns and Priests all through my earlier years, it hit me why I am so comfortably able to meld together religion into art! I figured out how I got from there to here!!! I still don't know what all this candy has to do with Christ dying, that will perplex me forever. But at least a few questions have been answered today.
This may not seem like a big deal to anyone reading this but for me it was a staggering revelation (no pun intended). These thoughts have plagued me over and over and have for years. But today, on Holy Saturday, I had my own religious and artistic awakening. My beliefs, or lack of, or confusions about religion aren't any clearer, but why they figure into my work so prominently do. The horror of of the bible stories mixed with shiny candy=markdemaio.com! WOW....I wish I were eloquent enough to really put into words what I'm trying to say here but I hope you're able to get what I'm driving at. So kids, I wish you a Happy Easter, or Passover, whatever you celebrate, if anything at all.
CHEERS!
M