Witch Eyes, by Viv, to protect you from evil chodes.
ART MARKET PROVINCETOWN (2020)
Legend has it that while filming the 1956 film noir picture “Autumn Leaves” director Robert Aldrich asked the 51 year old screen Goddess Joan Crawford if she could “cry on cue.”
Crawford, at this time was a 31 year veteran of the motion picture business who had already received three Academy Award nominations and won once, 10 years earlier. When ask this question she is reported to have turned to the director and replied,
“Out of which eye?”
That response was the impetus for this show.
Underestimation, condescension, misogyny, and bullying seem to be running rampant in our current age. Frustratingly angry, ignorant men seem to be throwing down the gauntlet and misguided patriarchal attempts at domination are making the world a very dangerous place indeed.
Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling - SOLD, triptych, watercolor on paper, 4 x 4, 2020
At the time I’m writing this the Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating in the U.S. with no end in sight. The arts are suffering as social-distancing makes it practically impossible for live performers to do their work -especially actors and singers. We are being silenced and isolated, separated physically from our collaborators and audiences.
Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda - 9-5 - SOLD, triptych, watercolor on paper, 4 x 4, 2020
Lots of performers I know are now finding other outlets for their creativity. Many are creating visual art. I found myself joking recently that those of us who found safety from bullies in high-school by hiding out in art class are finding ourselves, once again, back at the drawing board.
Which Eye?
Which I?
Witch I?
Witch Eye?
Underestimation, identity, magic, power, protection, self-preservation, responsibility, adaptability. These are all themes I’ve been exploring in my work and in my life. How do we care for others during times when we ourselves feel existentially threatened on the daily?
Marianne Faithfull, younger and older, diptych - SOLD, watercolor on paper, 4 x 4 each, 2020
Just as I did when I was back in high school art class I’ve been exploring our queer history and camp icons in the hope of finding clues.
One powerful moment I recently witnessed while isolating at home was of Truman Capote defending his old friend Tennessee Williams in an interview with Dick Cavett on YouTube in 1980. Queers defending queers. I was deeply moved by his impassioned defense of the aging playwright, along with another Dick Cavett interview during which Gloria Swanson whimsically explained to Janis Joplin and Margot Kidder that she was, in fact, the inventor of the panty-girdle!
Like Joan Crawford, Gloria Swanson had made the transition from silent films to talkies, they both lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic and the depression, and made strong comebacks in their later years. I wanted to know how.
How do we survive the dark times and muster the resolve to remain in or at least return to the light?
Joan Crawford, Autumn Leaves - SOLD, watercolor on paper, 4 x 4, 2020 - this work was the inspiration for the Witch Eyes and is priced at $3000
When Billy Haines, a successful young movie actor in the early 30’s refused to deny his gayness his contract was dropped and he was out of work. Instead of giving up he became an interior decorator and Joan Crawford became his champion, commissioning him to do her home and promoting his talent whenever possible.
Truman Capote and Joan Crawford -however problematic their legacies may be - were both defenders. Gloria Swanson and Billy Haines adapted!
Adaptors and defenders are the people I’ve been studying and gaining strength from for most of my life.
Most of these “Witch Eyes” I have painted are the magical left eye of people who I have been a fan of or been inspired by over the years. These are either the eyes of real people people who stand up to bullies and who defend others or they are abstract eyes I have “tranneled.”
Historically to give someone the “evil eye” is to place a curse on them. I’ve created these “Witch Eyes” as little magical spells of protection to ward off evil “chodes” or to put it more simply to keep you safe from tools of the patriarchy -bullies, creeps, and con-men.
Each of these Witch Eyes, by Viv, includes a few particles of Vivianite which, according to SpiritofIsis.org opens and balances the heart chakra. Vivianite eminates the energy of love helping one to heal deep emotional wounds. Vivianite helps increase self esteem, confidence and combats issues of inferiority, anxiety and frustration. Vivianite instills a sense of deep peace and is a useful aid to meditation.
Glamour is resistance and these glamorous “Witch Eyes” are infused with special powers to help make your personal space a more peaceful and safe one, that is if you believe in that sort of thing.
— Vivian | AMP: Art Market Provincetown | 2020