|
|
|
|
Flowers and Guns
Medium:
Oil, acrylic, and copper foil on Canvas
Dimensions:
24"w x 36"h
Original available for purchase:
Destroyed By the Artist
Available in Giclee:
No
|
| |
|
Of my hundreds of original paintings, this is the only one I have created, and then intentionally destroyed.
"Flowers and Guns" is a portrait of a man I was romantically involved with, engaged to marry, and repeatedly
abused by.
He was a career police officer. The badge in this portrait is symbolic of his law enforcement career, and his authoritative
nature and mentality. The flower symbolizes the opposite and very persuasive side of his nature that was caring, gentle,
and loving; the poison addiction that constantly keeps a woman coming back to her abuser. The gun symbolizes the cold, harsh
nature of his disposition, and is a reminder of dark things I have survived.
I consider this painting to be a part of my dark art creations. I also could not live with it, and destroyed it in 1997,
months after being notified of his death as a result of a heart attack.
As closure to this time of my life, I punctured the canvas as many times as possible with my favorite pair of scissors.
I then threw the remains, shredded and mangled, to the curb of my house in Kansas City for the garbage collectors to retrieve.
It was both a sad, and liberating gesture.
|
