Link 1: Igniting a spark in others submitted by Lisa Wong
Link 2: Green Thao with Mask 2020, oil painting submitted by Lizi Brown
Artist Reflection: This painting came from a portraiture class I was teaching this week. I was at a loss as to how to spark the students’ interest in the model and also address the current crisis. I decided to ask the model to wear a mask and everything fell into place. When I did the demonstration I realized it was just right for this project.
Link 3: Sharing Love, collage submitted by Robin Kahn
Artist Reflection: When I saw the piece, I only wanted to hug the woman and surround her with love. Over the past ten weeks (!), I have been surrounded by kindness, caring, and generosity, and I want to share those sentiments with the girl in the painting. For my collage, I took a mask, representing both this time and the girl in the painting, and surrounded her with love. Most of the pieces in the college are from cards and artwork I received from my community and students. On top of the mask are hearts with women and kids. Whenever I am out, I remind myself of the smiles behind the masks, which I wish I could see, and so here, I brought them to the front.
Link 4: Rose Box, dynamic origami submitted by Diego Mobarak
Artist Reflection: In the previous work I saw love and compassion. This rose box shows care and love just like a rose is a beautiful flower that shows care, love and compassion. In actual love, if not everyone is invested it will break. It is just like this origami because if any piece of the box isn't right it breaks.
Link 5: Balance III, mosaic pendant submitted by Emily Bhargava
Artist Reflection: When I first saw the rose box I was inspired by the transformation that it went through from box to flower, and also by the visual balance of the three points of the petals and their complimentary leaves. As an odd number, three allows a visual interplay of elements that our eye doesn’t immediately divide in half, and three supports allow a structure to stand. The pendant, the third that I’ve created on the theme of balance, includes a rose, and has three strong spikes like thorns that portray strength and balance. The hardware represents building and transformation.
Link 6: The things we nurture, photograph printed with ink of matte cotton rag paper submitted by Daniel Jackson
Artist Reflection: The piece I received, Balance III, contained natural elements—animal horns? a carved flower?—and the product of human hands (a brass plumbing connector?). It made me think about how, especially in these times, we are supported by nature around us, but we also support nature. So I made an image of hands holding an orchid whose stem is not strong enough to hold its own flower.
Link 7: The presence of something absent submitted by Maya Bernstein
Artist Reflection: I was struck by the image of the hands in this photograph; though it is clearly not the focus - the orchid is. But "the things we nurture" need to be tended by our strong and capable hands. And so, the notion of absence and presence, explored by various philosophers, came to mind - when we tend and nurture and care there is always a dance between presence and absence. What must be hidden for what is revealed to thrive? What takes the foreground, what the background?
Note: The artists did NOT see the reflections written by the previous artist, only the image of the work and the title. The reflections were revealed only when the chain was complete.
Feeling inspired? Create your own artistic response to this chain and share on instagram #translations2020.