Honors Thesis Artist Statement Sara Perkins
In my work, earthly realities refer to larger realities of the supernatural world. I employ the visual language of art to highlight the dialogue between these realities; using natural symbols to represent that which transcends absolute cognitive understanding. By allowing the seen to point to that is unseen, I hope to re-imbue a sense of awe and wonder into the lives of my fellow post-moderns.
The images I depict come from nature and thus are universally accessible to some degree. The Jungian concept of an archetype speaks to the universality of certain symbols or concepts within our psyche. And, the occurrence of common archetypes within the symbolic language of our individual dreams reinforces my sense that we are hard-wired to speak the language of symbols, and share similar databases from which to decode.
“Jonah and the Shadow” and “YHVH” depict two of the most vital and pervasive elements; water and fire; both of which bring about many literal, figurative, and metaphorical connotations. In the Bible, these elements are used by God in different contexts; as agents of both destruction and purification, as signs that God is angry as well as pleased, as metaphors for spiritual life as well as death, renewal as well as judgment. Yet for me, these paintings speak to the elements’ power, mystery and proclivity to transform; serving as metaphors for God’s presence in our lives and our subsequent reaction to his intervention.
Formally, my pieces are just as much about the background as they are about the foreground, as I am playing with different ways to create spatial depth, and, many times, spatial inconsistencies. For example, in the plant paintings, I use imagery from direct observation or photographs, but place them in spaces that are sometimes irreconcilable; signifying transcendence beyond realistic depiction, and momentary or worldly understanding. The scale of my pieces affirms the viewer’s own physicality, while the materiality of the paint reinforces the fact that these are indeed art-objects; reinforcing the somatic connection between the work of art, the artist who made it, and the person looking at it.
I am deeply moved by the piety and detail of early Renaissance painters such as Fra Angelico and Jan Van Eyck, who strived to represent the biblical stories in such a way as to encourage contemplation of the narrative. Yet, I am equally moved by the spiritual nature of paintings by modern artists such as Rothko, and contemporary artists such as Makoto Fujimura, but in different ways. These artists abstract grand Biblical themes, using color, scale, light and materiality, to appeal to our visceral and bodily interactions with their paintings. I view my works as a part of the long tradition of religious art at the same time that I see them as uniquely contemporary expressions.
