The Rising Sun
In the artist’s hometown of Springfield Vermont, she recalls a string of Asian influences throughout her formative years that implanted what she refers to as “a fondness for the Japanese people and culture.” Thus this still life, structured with “traditional Japanese items.” The doll was a gift from a Japanese craftsman who’d come to the area to “learn to use our dye” and whom her parents hosted. Lovely draws attention to how many things in this image are “encased,” most obviously the doll in display case, but less obviously the fish in water and the tangerines in their peel. Almost undetectable, note the skulls incorporated in the tablecloth – the signature color of death in Japan is white opposed to black in the US. Perhaps most poignant, the variegated navy scarf draped over the model of a window frame represents a tsunami wave over a house, paying homage to the 2011 tragedy. Much like her “prayer for Boston” in the Boston Marathon Angels painting, Lovely presents this as her “prayer for Japan.”
Dimensions: 16H x 24W | Medium: Oil on Linen
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