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Land scape
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
Joanne Gravelin
scene , whole for just a moment and then a blur as we drive past . It is a way of escape . I hope viewers feel my own longing to be forever in that one moment . My paintings are a way to relive pure moments and freeze a passing landscape .
Your landscapes often allow an open reading ,
: associative possibilities seems to play a crucial role in your pieces . How important is this degree of openness ?
With my paintings I have my own thoughts for each one about what it means to me and what i want people to see , but I am extremely open to all interpretations . I love to hear what my paintings bring up for someone else and how they feel connected to it . Ive had many people say that my work has completely changed their perspective on the American road trip and Ive also had people become very personal with their own stories of travel . I love hearing it all and the fact that anyone had an emotional response to my work is an accomplishment . I appreciate that my paintings are relatable and can be seen in many lights .
Your exploration of the consequences of the failed American dream is pervaded with a subtle still effective socio political criticism : a major part of the history of visual arts has been concerned with the ability to affect social consciousness and politics through images . But while artists from the contemporary scene , as Ai WeiWei or more recently Jennifer Linton , use to express socio-political criticism in their works , you seem more interested
, inviting the viewers to a process of self-reflection that may lead to subvert a variety of usual , almost stereotyped cultural categories . Do you consider that your works could be considered political in a certain sense or did you seek to maintain a more neutral approach ? And in particular , what could be in your opinion the role that an artist could play in the contemporary society ?
I ’ ve never considered my work to be particularly political , but it definitely does have an element of offering a fresh perspective . I like to think of myself as planting the seeds in ones mind of how they view the things we see everyday . I have to stop and think myself of why