There is something unsettling about a space filled with paintings of decorative deer heads and dismantled rabbit carcasses.
Although these were not the only subjects present in Karen Heagle’s solo show at the I-20 Gallery entitled “Let Nature Take its Course and Hope It Passes”, the theme of death and its inevitability was certainly prevalent. The show consisted of nine mostly large paintings relating to the themes of human impact on nature, the preservation of time, and the extent of vanity, which in this case was a tool used to capture and keep a moment. Filled with colorful, occasionally luminous, and always symbolic paintings, the space transported the viewer to a time that was both familiar and forgotten.
“How do you like it?” asked the gallery owner, Paul Judelson, his voice piercing and echoing through the silence.
The silence continued for a few long seconds, and was finally broken by a short, truthful response. It seemed as if all of the life, color, and vigor of the vast and well-lit gallery space had been drained; the life was now purely in the paintings.
I walked circles around the gallery space, taking in every detail, and hoping that the meanings I derived were close to the artist’s intent.
A vast majority of the paintings were still lives, and more specifically, vanitas, which are “still-life painting[s] that flourished in the Netherlands in the early 17th century contain[ing] collections of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures”. Dutch masters such as Harmen Steenwyck, Pieter Claesz, and Johann Friedrich Gruber pioneered the style, but it was French artist Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin who served as the greatest inspiration for Heagle. His and most other classical artists’ vanitas had religious themes and shared an allusion to the concept of “memento mori”. The foreshadowing of death was seen a stern warning against vanity and self-indulgence. This was the time of growing religious faith, with Calvinism and the Counter-Reformation greatly shaping European society. According to these religious doctrines, earthly pleasures would inevitably lead to man’s demise; a faith in God and the promise of eternal salvation was certainly stressed. Common symbols in the classical vanitas were human skulls, burning candles, and decaying flowers. These were either drawn directly in the foreground, or hidden among an array of seemingly pleasant items, as morbid but insistent reminders.
If we go back to Heagle’s vanitas, however, it should be noted and re-emphasized that her paintings were extremely colorful, and that there was no religious connotation.
Her modern-day interpretations breathe new life into the archaic genre. Although they are not necessarily uplifting, Heagle’s paintings have a more inclusive feeling about them. The aim seems to be to capture a moment in the
artist’s life, which is evident with her use of modern-day items such as lava lamps, and personal items such as paintbrushes. She juxtaposes her modern-day experiences as an artist with symbols and themes of the birth and death of nature. She toys with the idea of human manipulation of nature, and handles the rather heavy and complex themes with effortless but awe-inspiring execution. As Stephanie Buhmann, a writer for Downtownexpress.com, stated in her own article about the gallery, “[Heagle’s] touch is distinctly loose and her embrace of gestural expressionism links her more to abstractionists than to traditional realists…[her] quest is to draw us in and hold us close.”
So it seems as if an old genre is being reinvented with new symbols, new themes, and new techniques. Heagle’s distinct use of color and subject matter places her on the short but significant list of modern day vanita painters. Contemporary artists such as Alexander de Cadenet, Damien Hirst, Djan Silverberg, and Zsuzse Mathe have all experimented with the enigmatic Flemish style. Additionally, art blogs such as “After the Clock”, and numerous individuals simply trying to get their names and talents onto the online art market are also expressing interest. An art form that was meant to condemn is now expanded and utilized to express emotions, concerns, and small intimate glimpses into artists’ lives.
Alexander de Cadenet’s skull portraits of living beings are described by the artist as “…presented within a contextual reminder of death (or momento mori), an inevitable destiny and the end of life’s journey.”They are colorful, enigmatic, and undoubtedly modern interpretations of encapsulated death.
“After the Clock” is a blog focused on the promotion of modern artists, and its archive of modern day vanitas is a rather disturbing display of road kill and taxidermy, presented as controversial art. The message of death’s inevitability is more than prevalent.
Whatever the artists’ approaches may be, their source of inspiration is the vanita and its universal concept of “memento mori” is emphasized. Karen Heagle handled her subject matter with colorful and abstract execution, Alexander de Cadenet used technology to emphasize the existence of death in any society—ancient or modern, and mysterious bloggers continue to shock viewers on “After the Clock”.
“In some ways I feel like the imagery explains it better than I’m explaining it to you”, said Heagle in an interview with Cassandra Neyenesch, when asked to elaborate on her technique and artistic intentions. The same can be said for the concept of a vanita, and especially, the variety of ways it can be interpreted modernly. Every individual considers the concept of death at one point or another, and it is fascinating to see just how intimate this process really is.
Karen Heagle's "Rabbit, Copper Pot and Lava Lamp" (Acrylic on Paper)
Karen Heagle's "Weedburner" (Acrylic, Ink and Collage on paper). Although this isn't a conventional vanita, it still shows Heagle's distinct use of the theme of human interaction with nature, as well as the implication of death lurking about in the overpowering flames.
Alexander de Cadenet's skull portrait of Dame Stella Rimington (Image courtesy of http://www.decadenetworld.com/skulpor19.html)
(note: I didn’t include the references I used to write the article in my online post because of a formatting issue. All references are cited and specified in the hard copy.)
