Visual Artist
Truth, lies, misinformation, communication, belief, denial, fear.
Images flood my sleeping and waking mind. Humans gesture, reach out, push away, cover eyes, ears or mouths. At times we react through our fear. Can we learn to listen, embrace, protect and honor one another?
I am painting and making sculpture. It is my way of witnessing this fraught time and processing my roller coaster emotions. I strive to be present, release, accept and see the beauty of each moment.
First, some recent banners done by the Artists’ Rapid Response Team! All issues that precede us into 2022.
Freedom and Captivity the Fall issue of the Maine Arts Journal (maineartsjournal.com) is available now. A powerful issue exploring consequences and alternatives to incarceration through the eyes of artists, it is a compelling read.
The Maine Arts Journal Summer 2021 issue is a great. Fellow editor Véronique Plesch wrote this piece and when I was doing the lay out for the issue I was blown away by the images. The essay/interview is just as good.
Branch sculptures are finally at home. Coated with weather proofing they are living outside. We will see how they respond. It is a joy to live with them in the environment.
The photo on the right shows my branch piece alongside artist Tim Dowling’s metal seaweed sculpture.
The Summer issue on the theme Marks and Tracks is delicious, thought provoking and worth taking your time to explore. As an editor, I get immersed and fall in love with many images as I move through the submissions and invited Maine artists/writers. It is a joy to share the work and the ideas. Please feel free to share with friends and let me know what your reactions are.
Nora
The Tower of Inequality idea was germinating for a long time. I had done numerous drawings, attempted a few paintings and was not satisfied with my efforts to display the fundamental imbalance that prevails in the United States.
Power is held by a few and overshadows the rest. The Horatio Alger story is a cruel and useful fable for the elite. Life is painfully different for most Americans. This disturbing reality haunts me. It is something I need to acknowledge personally, and I feel America needs to address.
When it dawned on me that the idea was best realized in 3 dimensions, the piece came together.
It recently was displayed at The Harlow Gallery in their annual juried show in Hallowell, Maine.
Creative Portland does amazing work, getting local work out and part of the everyday scene. The street barricade design above and the banners/signs seen below are my contribution through the Artists’ Rapid Response Team!
Above is a picture of 15 of the 50 or more yard signs we created during 2020. They were displayed all over Maine and are now viewable in the PMA’s exhibit Untitled, 2020 Art from a ________ Time. The show will be up through May and the museum is open to the public.
Nora Tryon 