The great momento mori paintings of the past are wonderful at reminding us of our mortality. My painting "The Country of Sunlight, The Village of Milkweed" 48x30" oil on panel is in part a momento mori painting composed within a golden rectangle. I have been talking with my students about composition so I thought I would post a bit about the basic compositional ideas in this one.
A beam of light or a partially covered window in the momento mori tradition suggests the sublime light of the heavens. The window in my painting reflects the trees and sky and is placed at the top of the arc. The top arc in the golden rectangle was also a signifier for divinity and the heavens. I simplified the information of the wall of the house in that top arc and as it moves toward the upper corners of the painting to be atmospheric and not quite concrete like a wall... light and air itself instead of something receiving light.
The composition was intentional in its design and in what it meant. I placed the hose in the lower left right on the rule of thirds just inside the shadow, like a snake. How much water we use to suit our pleasure instead of our basic needs. The pot is empty. Instead the plants are the natural self seeders of our area. The girl and the milkweed share a relationship. The girl is intended to be a guardian, holding the milkweed, still planted, like a staff.
In momento mori paintings there is typically a skull to remind us of the finite corporal reality of our bodies...our mortality. In my painting I used the top abstract arc to be the "dome of the heavens" and the top of a suggested skull. The lower window is the eye socket and the plants coming up through the cracks, the teeth.
I have slightly darkened the image: Can you see the skull as you simultaneously see the life? With the milkweed plant pointing toward the window with the reflection of sky and trees and the girl standing with the beauty of nature; a guardian for what is good and true and beautiful.
I attempted to make the girls face communicate an expression that was at once innocent and knowing...Joy is what I was after...not the fleeting expression of happiness but an expression that communicates that even in the midst of difficulty I am loved and have the capability to love.
It is hard to see the surface details in these images. One area I need to get better at is photographing my work. For my students who occasionally look at my blog I hope this encourages you to think through your compositions. By the way this is the third time I was nominated for the teaching excellence award for the College of Communication and the Arts ... a big thank you to the students who wrote letters of support! I am so grateful to all the young people I have had the pleasure to work with! Life may end but while we live it there is so much to be grateful for!
