Artworks by Kim Triedman

For me, art has the ability to bring life's randomness to heel. On the level of the individual piece, I never fully know what it's about for me until it's done. It's like there's some kind of subterranean alchemy going on, and when I finish a collage I realize what it is I needed to say. I begin with an image, or a word, or a pattern --usually just one thing. . I’ll be drawn in by the brilliant plumage of a bird, or the smirk on the face of a Michelangelo statue. In time, other elements find their way to that thing: Easter bunnies find the Christ-figure; wasps find plump child-skin; the Virgin Mary finds Venus de Milo. These secondary elements are often other images, but they can also include backgrounds, textures, bits of string or straw; small announcements of color. Whatever that initial pairing happens to be, the process just ignites -- like a spooked horse, or something tumbling at great speed down a hill until it finally comes to its resting place at the bottom. I am a published poet and novelist as well as a visual artist. Not surprisingly, my collages have always had a strong narrative bent. Like my writing, they sketch their stories as much through what is left out as what is included. Increasingly, the work seems to focus on issues of gender expectations -- historical and evolving perceptions of femininity and sexuality. I’m especially interested in the notion of nostalgia -- how old perceptions collide with current societal realities -- and the emotional artifacts women continue to carry as a result. Sometimes I focus so much on the making of art that I overlook the process of getting it out into the world. And collage is a relatively "fast" medium -- at least for me -- and so I produce a lot of work. I love the idea of my work being out there in an online way so that others who might never otherwise see it can enjoy it can consider it for themselves.