Monday, May 25, 2009

Artworks with a strong, positive message

I got a comment a couple of postings below complimenting my work, but asking if any of my work has a positive message, as much of it seems to be dark. Well, I am in the midst of a series of drawings called the Entropy Series, which depicts the world literally falling apart into disorder, but I believe I have created a number of works which have a positive message for humanity:


The Golden Age, 2004. This is not necessarily a nostalgic piece looking back to a long-lost utopian state for humankind. I believe we are on the cusp of a new golden age, we just have to realize it.


To Life, 2005. Private collection. Just before I had done this painting, I had created another image entitled "Empire of Death", which I thought was fairly self-explanatory. This was the antidote I created to that image. It does look a little melancholy, but is suffused with light, and life.


The Lovers, 2006. The power of love to illuminate the darkness.


Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 6, 1991. The UDHR series focuses on the rights & freedoms that should be enjoyed by all people, everywhere. Most of the images have a strong, positive message. Of course, some, such as the image depicting torture, do not have such an upbeat message, but I felt it would be irresponsible of me not to depict that. And so on. From a series of 30 images, viewable at www.udhrart.org.

So, I think that makes it reasonably clear that, while much of my work deals with a negative message (yet still seeks to find light in the darkness, I hope) there are at least some images which are very positive. When I'm done with my current preoccupations, I'd like to make some more conventionally "beautiful" images...

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