American Memento Mori
“American Memento Mori” was prompted by an extraordinary series of paintings that I recently discovered. During the Depression of the 1930’s, the American government commissioned over 1,000 artists to record in paintings a wide range of American folk art ranging from tin signs and ship’s figureheads to toys and pottery. The purpose was to preserve our heritage, but also to provide decent paying work to unemployed artists. Those men and women made meticulous renderings that are not only photo-realistic but amazing works of art in their own right. You can see the pieces today in the National Gallery of Art.
My work is based on those images, presented as memento mori for our nation. Each figure is worked in black felt and mounted on a vintage tablecloth that bears the wear and tear of use. Sadly, it seems like our country is slipping from the strength of her glory years into an inevitable decline. History proves that the way of all flesh is the way of all governments, too. |
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