Artists and their Families

What role does family play in an artist’s life? "To acknowledge what happens to us, between us, as families, is to win life's wisdom, an existential, personal wisdom, claimed no other way.” (The Art of Family: Rituals, Imagination, and Everyday Spirituality, Gina Bria, Dell, NY, 1998)

Artists spend many hours creating new works in their studios. Although this is often accomplished in solitary, behind the scenes is a husband or other family member whose support is crucial to this artistic process. Art is not only an erudite idea, removed from the community, but it involves that community as portrayed through artists’ experiences and concepts. Family portraits of artists are a vehicle to connect this creative work to the outside world. They depict the connection between inner and outer selves, and educate those that are not connected with an art world through exhibitions or publications.

From husband and wife, to children or grandchildren, the families selected for this project have given love and support to each artist. I’ve chosen to use black and white images to represent this stage of the project. I feel this adds a sentiment that will focus viewers’ attention on different criteria than when viewing photographs in color.