DEBORAH LEE BAKER, PhD
Abstract painting offers the medium to represent my emotions and experiences in a visual way that is coherent to me. I especially appreciate this aspect when words feel like they fail to capture my sentiment, fully. The past year has been a tumultuous one across the globe, and notably here in the U.S. I’ve had plenty of feelings about it all, and I am grateful that painting has helped me “construct a coherent narrative,” a task I often help my therapy clients do.
Tension (2019)
(Acrylics on Canvas, 11” x 14”)
Late last year, I was aware of the increasing tension building in our society, as we were becoming more politically polarized. Various cracks in our foundation were splitting wide open under the pressure. Economic and racial inequities, resistance to equal rights in all aspects of our society, and hateful rhetoric were colliding with a large and diverse portion of our population who wanted something else. At the time, I had no idea how much more upset 2020 would bring with destructive fires, Covid-19, police brutality, and attempts to suppress voting. Tension continues to represent, for me, the cracking and splintering that is happening, even as there is hope for a more united future.