The Art of Kissing (2005) Malerei von Janet Tanguay

Artist’s Statement - By Janet L. Tanguay
I grew up in rural Vermont and moved to upstate New York after college. After 9/11, I made a decision to leave the corporate world and make a full commitment to being an artist. I have always been fascinated by human nature’s ability to bounce back and rebuild when tragic events happen. My artwork is about taking something broken (in my current work, broken instrument parts) and recycling/re-creating it into something entirely new. A soul’s ability to reach deeply towards hope when everything falls apart around us is what has inspired me.
Growing up, I was a straight A student and a perfectionist. I was always more critical of myself than others were critical of me. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned in life is that no one is perfect. We are human, and as humans, we make mistakes. We are so quick in this society to judge, to discard, to pollute and to destroy. Yet, mistakes present us with opportunities, and are sources of fresh inspiration. Recycling broken instruments is a creative act that brings together discord and harmony, discard and beauty, disarray and aesthetic. My art offers a way to re-consider the way we honor things, other people and ourselves. If you’ve ever been down or neglected or mussed up, you understand the need for a better way.
The Japanese have a concept they call wabi-sabi that speaks to the art of imperfection,
or the willingness to accept things as they are. Wabi-sabi is about process, not the end result. Wabi-sabi requires that we take time to pay attention to imperfections. To practice wabi-sabi means to accept nature’s process, including impermanence. Materials in my paintings include an old scarf, broken drumsticks and a violin without strings. These things could be dismissed as ugly and without value, but wabi-sabi has taught me that we are in a constant state of change, and to value the moment/the now.
As these fluid, musical pieces have inspired my own rhythm to evolve, the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that there is beauty in imperfection. Much like the oyster’s process of secreting mucus in layers to harden over the irritation of grit that slips into their shell until it becomes a perfectly smooth, hard, round, beautiful pearl; my process of irritation when glue runs from a record called “Blue Christmas” transforms into my vision of a tear falling and divine intervention, and I leave it there. I transform the instrument and myself into something new. My artwork has taught me a lot about forgiveness and about allowing ‘what is’ to just come into being without judgment. In accepting and transforming the broken instrument, I accept and transform myself, and enjoy the process a whole lot more.
Namaste is my favorite word, meaning “I honor the light within you”. Namaste is how I approach my art. I take an old scarf, a guitar without strings, a rusty trumpet or broken drumsticks, and I approach them with hope. I do the same with pe...

• Nationalität: VEREINIGTE STAATEN
• Geburtsdatum : unbekanntes datum
• Künstlerische Domänen:
• Gruppen: Zeitgenössische Amerikanische Künstler