Friday, September 17, 2010

"January 2" by Clare Coyle Taylor

"January 2" Clare Coyle Taylor

A blur of colors dances across the page. Alone, they are bright, cheerful, but thrown together on the page in a frantic mix of curves and jagged lines, it shows anger. Anger, sadness, among other emotions are evident through the thick, crushed pencil color. In the middle there are two black squares, the center of her hopelessness.  Art is a way for her to express, to feel. She overlaps and mixes the vivid, joyful colors, morphing them into a mass of muted scribbles. The colors extend past the black border, creating great contrast as they stand out against the stark white. We are reminded of the original cheerful nature of the colors as they stray further outside of the border, away from the confusion and sadness. Amidst the confusion, one loses sight of this original euphoria; like the colors, they are sucked into the black hole, forgetful of their previous joy. Although dark, there are two dark shapes in the center of all the clamor; two possible outcomes. Inside one, darkness, rage. But, in midst of the lower, a red; dark, muted, blurred, but a color nonetheless.
As the artist conveys the abstract image on the page, she demonstrates her own feeling clearly through her use of color. The eyes of the viewer are sucked into the center; drawn towards the darkness like moths. Its mood is contagious. One can't help but feel some sort of strong emotion after seeing it: anger, hate, sadness. But, she creates one small illusion of hope. The small square of red in the center black. Through all of the confusion, past the sadness, and beyond the anger, there is hope; the color can regain its formal cheerfulness, not immediately, but over time.

This drawing reminds me of the proverb, "time heals all wounds". The artist seems to take us through her stages of grief, showing two possible outcomes.