Waltz for Ravel (2014)
I recently read that Leonardo drew things in order to understand them. That pretty well describes why I make art: in order to clarify feelings or thoughts — while hoping that that’s interesting to other people. I’ve learned that to understand anything, I have to deliberately avoid a “style”, to avoid making images that repeat one another. Each thought or feeling needs its own “style”.
Some images describe or question our human behavior, as in the Manifest Destiny series. They’re helped by the many graphic images around us: ads, billboards, the work of other artists. And they come from reading history, poetry, the morning newspaper. For example, the Coup-d’État series. The Unreality group considers how we use art to hide present realities, especially the “art” of celebrity. Happenstance are those strange moments when private life, history and vision all intersect.
Some are personal: To Lydia (my grandmother) & R. Motherwell (whose art I greatly admire) is an homage to those two people. Life’s Milestones might better be called “Life, the Abridged Version”. The same title could apply to We Each Sew Our Suit, an image which arose while reading a poem by Tomas Tranströmer. A comment by Kurt Vonnegut, on our environmental foolishness, led to Rolling Drunk on Petroleum.
Finally, most of the images are for simple, visual pleasure, the pleasure of shapes, color, of space, of movement. All the work is exploratory and experimental, an adventure for me that I hope is enjoyable for you.
George Woodward Art 