“Calling for a Media Revolution,” by Sabrina Brett. Mixed Media on Canvas: Acrylic, Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution by Tsukineko, Newspaper, Jen Wilson’s 29th Street Market Paper (#291175) and Unryu Paper on Canvas.
“Calling for a Media Revolution,” by Sabrina Brett. Mixed Media on Canvas: Acrylic, Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution by Tsukineko, Newspaper, Jen Wilson’s 29th Street Market Paper (#291175) and Unryu Paper on Canvas.
“Chasing Zebras” by Sabrina Brett.Acrylic, Unryu Paper, Leopard Print Paper made in Nepal, Tan Cork Paper by Recollections and Tissue Paper on Canvas.
“The Guardian,” Acrylic, Fish Net, Tissue Paper and Recycled Tea Bags on Canvas. By Sabrina Brett
“Sabina’s Betrayal” by Sabrina Brett. Acrylic on Canvas, inspired by Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
“Bow to the Artist, Honor the Intersection” by Sabrina Brett. Acrylic on Canvas.
“Braving the Unknown” by Sabrina Brett, Acrylic on Canvas
“Compelled to Speak” Acrylic on Canvas, Newspaper, by Sabrina Brett
“The Snow Queen” by Sabrina Brett
Acrylic on Canvas.
The comforts of the holiday season are around the corner: the food, the festivities, the traditions and the weather. I usually spend Christmas and New Years in Germany with my mother’s family. We always visit the Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas Street Markets), a feast for the eyes as much as for the stomach, and savor the glühwein (hot mulled wine) and gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds). For me, the season is incomplete without watching fairy tales.
My getting older has not abated my love of fairy tales. If anything, my appetite for them has grown. Their stories are indicative of woman’s and man’s universal desire for a happy ending and the triumph of good over evil. Today, there seems to be a growing need for fairy tales. Rampant economic disparity and decline accompanied by general disenchantment provide an impetus for escapist art and film. The burgeoning renditions of fairy tales in 2011 and 2012 suggest this very need to be comforted by the prospect of the “Happily Ever After.”
“The Snow Queen,” the cherished fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, is a story about the struggle between good and evil and the eventual defeat of evil. I find it interesting that the source of evil, or the patron of evil, in these beloved fairy tales, is usually a woman (queen, stepmother, witch). Does a woman make for a better villain? I’m skeptical. In these stories, the women who possess power and personal agency are the villains. Inversely, the women who possess neither power nor personal agency are the heroines; their happiness and salvation are completely and utterly dependent upon their hero, their prince, their man. What is threatening about an independent woman in power? Why must she be vilified?
“Siren” by Sabrina Brett
Acrylic on Canvas.
In Greek mythology, Sirens are portrayed as dangerous and seductive bird-women who use their bewitching music and voices to lure sailors to their island. In the Odyssey, Homer paints a harrowing picture of the Sirens situated amidst mounds of decaying corpses. Odysseus, physically bound to his boat, is able to pass by the island without plunging into the mass grave destined for so many others. I wonder if these cursed “monsters” feel empowered by their deadly gift and take pleasure in the capture of their victims and their ensuing deaths. Or perhaps, they feel trapped by their fate and pained by their inability to change it.
I am fascinated by the contradiction inherent to the Siren. Though she possesses both physical and vocal beauty—gifts that would normally bring her great worldly satisfaction—she is unable to enjoy the fruits of such gifts (love, affection, adoration, etc…). Though she is designed to seduce men, she can never have them—only their corpses. She is the true victim in this myth. Instead of understanding the Siren as a “monster” that relishes her victories over mankind (the popular perception), I understand her as a slave to her curse, forever unable to experience the joys of life.
“Burning Alive” by Sabrina Brett.
Acrylic on Canvas.
I began this painting knowing I wanted to use the colors gold and red, a resplendently rich color pallet that conveys drama. In addition to communicating grandeur, this color combination communicates resilience and strength.
The subject of this painting is burning. Whether the fire is an exterior factor, or that of her making, I have not determined. In one glance, I see her lit by her own intensity, her own power. In another glance, I see her defying circumstance with a steady gaze, though dissolving into flame.
What does it mean to burn alive? Is it the eternal condition of the damned, the destiny of the wicked? Or, is it the ultimate state of bliss: to be lit on fire, intoxicated by passion and submerged in a state of perpetual desire? We often faint from acting upon our true desires, either for fear of judgment, or for fear of failure. But, if we could continuously seize the opportunity to live in fire, by living with the knowledge and aptitude to do what we love, is that not the greatest state of being?
