"Hands Off" by John Wathne

Diane Ayott: 

This subject of this painting is a recent Hands-Off protest in Salem. It struck me as very present tense, while also echoing the New York Ash Can School of painting from the late 19th and early 20th century. Those painters were addressing the grit of social life in an American city. Part of my association is the way the Salem protest painting is painted. It holds a kind of social realism in the dry, grittiness of the paint itself. Social life in the US has included protests from the colonial era till now. Protesting is a big part of the American story and the attentive, yet raw approach to this painting feels, to me, honest, in the best sense of the word.

Diane Ayott: 

When I first approached the 3-D object on the wall, a highly adorned crucifix, my curiosity was heightened. It is not only the religious associations that arise but also the emotional, and the historical. Christ is a heavily encoded icon. And in our culture, how can it not intersect with identity in some way?

Piss Christ, 1987, by American artist, Andres Serrano, is a photograph of a plastic crucifix immersed in urine. Serrano is known for his controversial content in photography. He felt ideas are more important than photo effects and manipulations. And in the crucifix with the rainbow loin cloth, it is the idea that is underscored, even with all the loving attention to details, including: pearls, beads, glitter, fabric, threads, etc.

Questions arising from viewing this piece as well as divergent responses are sure to be varied and many.

Diane Ayott: 

A photograph showing duality within the subject of a portrait is evocative.

Who am I? Who are you? Are we twins? Do we have twin natures? Does the rainbow hair signify double queer? Two-spirit? Two souls? A mirroring of self? Are we seeing a self-portrait or a portrait of a friend, lover or acquaintance?

The diptych is a long-standing format used to pair two pieces together, whether they are similar od disparate. It serves many purposes in art. What is it serving here? We don’t see the face of this individual, yet we assume that it is the same person. There is an intentional, dividing line between the two images, a slight separation within sameness. Is it indicating double-mindedness or simply two views?

This image captures questions about identity and I’m curious about what it evokes for you.