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This painting was pretty hard to do. While I worked on it, I dealt with questions of appropriateness and sensitivity to the subject. It is a portrait of Jon Benet Ramsey. I, in no way, am extending judgement or condemnation toward her family. Rather, I wanted merely to remember her. Because of this, I have a hard time saying the painting is finished.
It is a sad story that was recently brought back in to the public eye through the strange and sick fascinations of John Mark Carr. I started thinking about the violence that beauty can provoke, even if that beauty is held by a child. With television shows like "To Catch a Predator", and the seeming rise in pedophilia in this country, I wanted to remember these victims as actual people... children, not a sound bite and piece of tragic entertainment.
As with the other portraits of children I've been working on, there are no eyes... no identity. Jon Benet Ramsey's identity has been robbed from her in more ways than one; and not only by her killer but by the media frenzy that ensued and clouded her little life with controversy, disputes about religion and parenting, and the pursuit of an unattainable ideal of beauty. Because of these things, she has become an icon in popular culture yet has somehow escaped receiving much representation in art. Again, this is an example of how our society does not view children as being "real" people who deserve a voice or even offer much interest in their emotions and inner-lives.
painting is oil on canvas, 12" x 12" 2007
5 comments:
Absolutely BRILLIANT. From the red lipstick on her lips to the partial writing of 'Little Miss..' on her banner to her well maintained hair. (Sidebar: I like the PARTIAL writing. Niiice!!!)It all screams -a lost childhood. It seems like everything was taken away from this little girl probably since the moment she took her first breath to the moment of her last. A broken spirit. I can see where you may consider this a touchy subject and just how hard this was for you. We all know the 'politics' of people theorization. I find it amazing and somewhat refreshing to know that you are not afraid of emerging the actuality of it all. I look at this painting and I see clarity. As not only was she the one that experienced such tragedy, but also in addition to the world as we see it today. A world of vanity and pain. I see this painting representing a deeper emotional glitch in todays society. Yet no one knows how to fix it. Bravo Angela!
I really, really like WHY you painted this subject, and I think it's very kind for a painter such as yourself to turn toward this subject with such reverence.
thanks heather! i still have this one and i still work with her image but never in any bueauty queen gard anymore... just portraits of a regular little girl.
"the violence beauty can provoke..."
"a regular little girl..."
Hmmm... I can remember the first time I was accused of the kind of "beauty" that can provoke violence. I was a "regular little girl"
It was a swift and jarring shove toward self-consciousness and self-doubt. I couldn't have been more than twelve. Still can't imagine what it must be like to lose your life over it as a pre-pubescent child. Chilling.
i know exactly what you mean, girl. very chilling. and just so so sad. and i think most women have experienced some form of that "violence" at some point in their lives... i think most little girls are subjected to levels of inappropriateness that scare them and make them painfully self-concious.
when i think of her now, i wonder what her favorite color was and if she even had a favorite tv show yet. so young.
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