IN/HUMAN CONDITION

In/Human Condition explores the evolution of Self in these most extraordinary times. The explorations are conceptual sculptures on canvas. The themes are vehemently familiar.  The triumph of image over the sacrifice of the body.  bewitchments of war.  The culture of fame and persona.  Marriage-divorce-marriage-divorce.  Forays into the unthinkable, from Columbine to September 11. 

It begins with a canvas, then  layers of  newspaper, the chronicles of time and events, the running narrative of the cultural Self.   Amid this layering float archetypal images:  religious iconography.  vintage black and white snapshots.  Heads penetrating the canvas, spun from newspaper and steel mesh. Toys of Americana youth. Strength of message is  matched by visual power. In a reciprocity of form and content, aesthetics serve concept. 

Components are highly charged and lush, though  materials remain modest.  Gold leaf joins hardware on the canvas. archival photographs and plastic toys co-exist with glass and hair.  the art is conceptual, but conceptual art remembering the mandate to astonish the eye.  Each work, a window into our collective cultural unconscious.

© 2022 | All Rights Reserved | Susan J. Barron