Counterpoints

He Bout Ta Get Smoked, oil and ink on panel, 24 x 30 inches, 2009.

She Got Smoked, oil, charcoal, graphite, and ink on panel, 24 x 30 inches, 2009

The above works were created simultaneously, and as often happens with paintings made in close proximity to each other, both in time and space, they relate and enjoy an interesting dialogue.  The pieces deal with inversion.  These transpositions exist on different levels of the works and manifest themselves in a myriad of forms.  An obvious example of this is represented by the upside down figure in She Got Smoked.  I would like to point out, for the benefit of my reader, some of the themes employing this idea of inversion as a springboard for you to dive into the work.  

Starting with the titles of the aforementioned objects, He Bout Ta Get Smoked and She Got Smoked, notice the opposing tenses, the one is going to happen while the other has happened.  Then recognize the subjects,  one is male, and the other female.  Let us dig a bit deeper and address the use of colloquialisms.  In both cases the meaning of the text has been inverted from the implied, he is going to die, or she got killed, to the literal, he will be physically smoked, and she actually did get smoked.

Next, observe the imagery, and the exchange between male and female.  One takes place out of doors in vibrant color, and the other depicts an interior space in monochrome.  One has smoke the other does not.  Consider also the dialogue, or rather the drama between the sexes inherent in the pictures.  In He Bout Ta Get Smoked, the lady holds the gentleman, and in She Got Smoked, the gentleman holds the lady.    

The physicality of the pipe in He Bout Ta Get Smoked, and the way in which the woman signifies the vaporous in She Got Smoked, are also inversions to be remarked upon.  In the former, the pipe becomes almost human, being held close to the woman's breast, and in the later, the human figure emerges as the ephemeral.  In other words, the inanimate object gains life, and the living assumes the form of something less material. 

In closing I would like to leave you with some helpful facts about the settings of the paintings.  He Bout Ta Get Smoked, takes place in Northeast Portland on San Rafael Street two doors down from my studio.  This local prompted the use of slang in the titles of these pieces.  It was not so long ago that "he bout ta get smoked" meant something very different in this neighborhood than what I have depicted.  She Got Smoked, takes place in my interpretation of an Anselm Kiefer lodge.  Kiefer, being an artist whom I admire and whose referenced to history in his own works inspired my reference to his work in this painting.  

There are many places that I hope these pictures will take you.  The former observations should act merely as starting points for your journey into the work, and were just some of the thoughts I had during the creation process.