Monday, June 28, 2010

Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage water media 9x12"
The Gulf oil disaster needs no explanation. Recently I read the delicate plovers are migrating back right into the mess which prompted me to paint this piece. I have only seen photographs of pelicans dripping in oil and I don't know how much oil the plovers will get on them since they are shore /wading birds. So this is done purely from my imagination. As an artist how much license should I take ? Does it take away from the message if I decide to be faithful to the spirit of the idea, to the emotional content and go with my imagination? Recently there was a story on NPR about Michelangelo drawing a brain in God's neck in the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the discussion centered upon why there and what did he want to convey? Artists have always wanted to make philosophical and political statements. My hope is that, the messages doesn't get swept away in the debate about realistic depiction.

8 comments:

Melanie Statnick said...

I was waiting for someone to do this. I thought i'd be one of the few to capture it. I love it, thank you for capturing something so real

Meera Rao said...

Thanks so much Melanie -- the oil spill is such a terrible tragedy it really makes me feel so helpless.

padmaja said...

Meera I agree with what you are trying to say here.. your expressing it here is this way quite touching.

Meera Rao said...

Thank you Padmaja! It was definitely a different feeling I experienced when painting this piece.

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Prabha. I guess unfortunately the world over we humans have not been good stewards of the earth

Crystal Cook said...

What a beautifully expressive piece Meera. I think you did the absolute right thing to paint it the way you did, the best most moving work is always from following that source that prompted you to paint it in the first place. Just my opinion :)

I love it, it's very powerful.

Meera Rao said...

Crystal, Thank you very much -- the gulf disaster has been evoking powerful feelings for everyone. I need to look into channeling these feelings into further positive ways of helping the situation.

Kathy Staicer said...

A very moving painting.

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