Ann Starr
Land of Far Out
acrylic on canvas
31 x 44 in.
As Woman Made celebrates fifteen robust years of continuity and growth, I am happy to present The Land of Far Out in similar terms: the continuity and development of my own thought showing itself in my painting.
In 2000, I curated a solo- and concomitant group show here, “Normal/Abnormal: Bodies and Minds.” The combined event gave me a wonderful occasion to reflect on the vaguely defined concept of “normality” that is so central to every identity. How do we interpret it intellectually and emotionally? When and why are we moved to question it?
My personal and intellectual concerns in the recent past are reflected in painting, drawing, and writing that deal with subjects of monstrous bodies, mental illness, and the impact of the latter on the individual profession of art.
“The Land of Far Out,” made this spring, draws me beyond those to contemplate real, imaginary places where I turn from questions of definition, or of health and pathology.
In “Far Out” I find the most beautiful place, composed of edges and radical states that invite the senses; where observation returns me to that state—childlike and very old—where wonder replaces the fearful ‘why.'”
© Ann Starr