Santos Rene Irizarry

Abstracted Totemic Figure in Gouache with Mustard Yellow Green Pink

Circa 1960s

"#70 – I AM TIRED" is from Amy Williams' series "A Farewell to Arms" – wherein the artist works directly onto page 70 of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway'...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

"#220 – PEACE" is from Amy Williams' series "A Farewell to Arms" – wherein the artist works directly onto page 220 of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's W...

"#187 – HE SAID IT WAS A LIE" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist is working directly onto page 187 of a found copy of Er...