So lately I discovered the concept of the Frame.
The reason is the Dia de los Muertos show at Lawndale. They give you a retablo tin upon which to paint. The tin measures 8 by 10 inches, and for me that’s really small. But they let you cheat! As long as you use the tin, you can add stuff. I decided to add a frame because then it would be bigger.
This presented a cool new set of visual problems to solve. 1. The frame is part of the picture and not part of the picture. 2. The frame makes the work…. 3D. As someone whose favorite dimension is definitely the second one, I saw this mad crazy wild stuff.
Traditionally in Mexico retablos seem to portray a disaster or misfortune that was survived by intercession of a saint, Jesus or Mary. I painted a memory of being in New York during September 11, a disaster that was not averted. (Lawndale lets you change the rules a bit).
September 11 was ten years ago. The painting is the event, but the frame is the space of memory, ten years. It is the space where I contemplate that memory. The prayer is taken from a chant from the Greek Orthodox Church. Because my photograph is a bit blurry, I will type the words here:
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Say who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? And I am not on fire? And I am not on fire?
Underneath, are two prayers: Christe Eleison is Greek for Christ give me mercy (The Jesus prayer of the heart). Ar-Rahim is one of the 99 names of Allah, it means Allah is merciful.
I think the frame must also represent a space beyond time. The birds escape the picture’s calamity, but the people do not.
A surprise gift the frame gave me was the duality of space: inside, outside. I could really create a strong movement with this, a movement from left to right. You read the words from left to right. The fire pushes to the right. The birds break out of the frame in a diagonal, going faster, free.
The person falls out of that left to right movement. The person drops out of sight.(Well, that’s how I saw it, anyway…)
Well, do you know what? I had been so excited buying that lovely large frame at Hobby Lobby among the glitter and stickers and beads, I failed to notice the fine print of my Lawndale rules: the entire work can’t exceed 12 by 14 inches. Mine was too big and they couldn’t take it. So I made a new frame really fast before the deadline; it’s a bit smaller and not the one pictured here. I don’t think it’s that different, though.
The Dia de los Muertos show is at Lawndale from October 17 through November 5. I got a sneak peek when I turned my piece in and all the works were so beautiful, I wish I had a million dollars to attend the auction with! For more information on Lawndale and how to get there and stuff, go to www.lawndaleartcenter.org.
