The story behind the Family Tree Paintings
I recently viewed some early documents housed at the U.S. Mint Collection in New Orleans. Picture a climate controlled room, white gloves and archival boxes holding stacks of records and ephemera. I found that much of the early evidence of our cultural existence comes in the form of property records and marriage and birth certificates. As interesting as that can be, I found myself wanting more than just handwriting and names. One document named a building which was a bakery, and I found myself wondering about that person, who must have loved to bake, whose family must have baked for generations, and I wondered if they went home in flour-covered clothes each day, leaving a trail down Esplanade Ave of powdery white.
I have thought a lot over the years, about why I make these Family Tree Paintings. Of course on the surface, it's not hard to see. Someone commissions me to create an unconventional portrait of their family. Families have done this for generations, in the form of portraiture, and the traditional "family tree" documents we know. But it's so much more than that to me.
To me, it is a cultural mapping project. A chance to see story through painted imagery. I hope that one day years from now, the paintings I have made will add to the human record of existence. They will represent a people and a place and time, and stand to tell the story long after those people are gone. That emotional archeology is what makes these paintings valuable.
Like the painfully beautiful and autobiographical work of Frida Kahlo, mixed with the existential approach to "the actual life of the individual, as a true essence, defined by values, and the freedom to determine meaning in your own life." I relate much to Francis Bacon in the sense that I want to be a chronicler of the human condition. I believe that now, like never before, we are free to define our place and meaning in life, and the allegory of a family experience can be symbolized and portrayed in visual form. It is the magic of everyday life propelled by overarching values and underlying meaning, that make each family a unique part of humanity.
If you are interested in preserving the mythology of your family, and recording the intangible evidence of existence, then you most likely are a good candidate for a Family Tree Painting.
I say, don't be just a summary of the transference of property and assets.
Let there be poetry in your family history. Give future generations the visual evidence for interpretation. Create a mythology - a combination of legacy and mystery. One that will unfold for generations.
Family Tree Painting customers become a part of my worldwide family. We enter a dance that never ends. – Rebecca Rebouche
