Objects
of Comfort and Despair (continued)
Still life has sometimes been spoken of as a small art form,
insignificant compared to the grand traditions of portrait,
religious, and history painting or 20th century statements
tendered as huge abstract and/or expressionist canvases,
not to mention the exotic or the all too terribly real transfixed
in the camera's eye. Yet still life remains. Sometimes
it is a vehicle for learning, but I suggest that its persistence
has to do with its proximity to the most basic concerns of
human life: food; shelter; sex and accompanying life and
growth; and death. Also, the simplicity of content
in a still life allows for endless expressive experimentation
within a form which remains close to universal human experience.
Olivia Parker© 2006
