Marie Thibeault
Gravity’s Angel
2019
Oil on canvas
78 x 72 inches
Of all my recent paintings, this one seems to best convey the complex feelings and contradictions of living in this moment in history.
The sky and earth are entwined with ghosts and fragments that simultaneously expand and and collapse.
The sky forms are like shields or banners that signal a way forward, or perhaps they are warning signs.
On the earth, surrounding the storm damaged house, fall reflections and cast shadows, that reference other than human life forms ,prompting deep memory and a longing for wholeness.
This painting is named after one of my favorite Laurie Anderson songs , Gravity’s Angel.
An excerpt from the lyrics:
"Last night I woke up. Saw this angel. He flew in my window.
And he said: Girl, pretty proud of yourself, huh?
And I looked around and said: Who me?
And he said: The higher you fly, the faster you fall. He said:
Send it up. Watch it rise. See it fall. Gravity's rainbow.
Send it up. Watch it rise. See it fall. Gravity's angel.
Why these mountains? Why this sky? This long road. This ugly train."