Speaking In Tongues
2011 - 24" x 20" x 1.5" Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, newspaper, oil pastell on gallery canvas.
Finished with Liquitex Matte Varnish #5208
(Private Collection - Northern Ireland)

April 10, 2011

Look over your shoulder
See the duck?
She found solace in the dark.
A place for clear thinking.

When I close my eye,
Resonant voices plot a tragic story.
Rivers of ecstasy.
Arresting passages of the mind.

Sit in am empty room with two people.
A live exhibition.
Jagged scenes of beauty.
Ungodly singing during a Chinese exorcism.
You feel discomfort.

Do they know?
They don't really know.
And therefore don't know much.
Get to know.
And listen.

There are people who understand, 
And people who understand something.
Stick figure images are the best kind of art.
There are three steps to being funny.
You know the first.

What is the function of the dots?
Visual distortion works best on a vertical plane.
Shifting the scale towards large or small.
Irregular or asymmetrical.
If one anticipates fear,
A tree will fall.

The concept behind more is more.
Time becomes the past,
And it will be so.

Deviant monkey.
A master of unconventional storytelling.
Improvise a poem, or lyrics in a secret language.
Conducting deeply moving folk songs.
Dark arrangements about sex, sin, and war.

Look carefully.
Implications of misfortune lie below the imagery.
Burning a hole in the future.
Seek refuge under the umbrella.

 

 

Background:

I remember seeing the snake's head and drew that in first. Without thinking too much about it, she ended up with one eye. The snake is a cobra and was likely inspired by the little cobra that escaped from the Bronx Zoo. Sorry, but the snake is not intended for phalic symbolism in this case, but you are free to think what you like.

The duck was added next and the umbrella came towards the end of the painitng and inspired by the last line in the poem. If you ever walk through the parks in NYC (Central or Prospect Park) you will see a lot of people walking their miniature dogs. It's often hard to tell if they are dogs or large rodents. I like dogs but if I ever owned a pet it would be something original like a walking fish or pygme elephant.

At the left edge of the mountains you will see some circled words.