Highlights from [Baren] Exchange #74 (Part 2 of 2)

Here is the second half of my highlights from Baren Forum Exchange #74. The first half I wrote yesterday.

Of her print Tightening the Boom, Jennifer O'Keefe merely comments: "New England cranberry wet harvesting." Nicole Schlooser is even more enigmatic, offering no commentary on her untitled woodcut of sleeping rabbits. We viewers are left with an image on a square piece of paper to contemplate.

I paired these two prints, with such dissimilar subjects and styles, for a reason, although finding to right words to articulate why is a challenge. The connection I see seems to rest in both composition and aura.

Regarding the former, there is a horizon across the upper-center of the pictureplane - explicit in O'Keefe's and implied in Schlosser's. In both, natural elements such as trees and water suggest gentle, wavering movement. A partial oval anchors the scene, and depth is suggested by the diminishing scale of figures in the background compared to those in the foreground.

Regarding the latter, there is a stoic anonymity of beings who quietly pass the moments engaged in the flow of activities both repetitious and indispensable. It is the heartbeat of life itself when at rest.