[Today’s featured artwork for Day 49 of the 365 Days Project is by Ann Haaland.]
Art is a diary the world is invited to read.
#50 – Creating art is a way for artists to affirm where they are in the present, to see where they’ve been in the past, and to explore where they might go in the future.
Like many artists, there was a period in my career when the artwork I created was all about me, chronicling my struggles and my victories during a particularly challenging transition I was navigating in my life. When my work and I arrived together on the other side, I stepped away from being the central character in my art and took on other themes.
It is only recently I realized that even though I’m no longer the literal subject, my artwork still symbolically chronicles my life. I can look at a piece from years ago and, judging by the colors I used or the forms that prevailed, I can see where I was emotionally at the time and recognize how much I’ve evolved as a person.
Ann Haaland’s mixed media work reminds me of this connection. After her mother died, the past became Haaland’s new point of reference for her creative work. “In these exercises with collage mixed media, I cut, paste, cover up and face ‘the figure.’” she said. “I’m revisiting and honoring my own cut-up-and-pasted childhood.”
We are all on our own private journey and our “diary without words”, as Ann puts it, allows us to use color, texture, sound and movement to consciously or unconsciously share that journey with the world.
Ann Haaland’s artwork can be viewed at: Ann Haaland
Description of the images included in this post:
Aleatory
Ann Haaland, New York
Mixed media on canvas
Echo
Ann Haaland, New York
Oil on luan panels
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
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