**_Love Letters_**

Acrylic, Graphite, and Conte Paintings on vintage book and paper.

Collection of love letters written by historical figures and famous lovers throughout the ages. The phrases of the hand-written pieces correspond to loving, passionate, sometimes humorous excerpts from each letter, the text partially obscured by paint ground.

In these pieces, I appropriate a pre-existing text, here letters, and obscure the original document which serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. The idea of covering is twofold: First, simply, that these are private letters. Intimate thoughts and words, often delivered in secret, hidden, intended only for two people, and their eyes alone. Secondly, the hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The unspoken that I believe exists in us all. As the words are concealed and the paint eventually dries, small, seemingly trivial details – random words and phrases emerge, as if bubbling from the subconscious, while the larger picture and context are erased.

The pieces are always painted and presented in a set of two, representing the duality of nature and suggesting that there are two sides to every story. Certainly, this work is about human emotion — the spectrum from love to hate, or indifference rather, and all the messiness in-between. While these pieces may seem simple in execution, the concept runs deeper. I take much time pondering, searching for just the correct phrase to write on the finished piece. It must resonate with me. If not initially, then after I obliterate the text. The words often find me. The paint, which resembles Rorschach inkblots, forms a ground from which I tease out words. I purposely scribble, giving the work a dashed-off quality, another metaphor for emotion. For me, anything "too perfect," too calligraphic would just be robotic and negate the feeling. Beauty in imperfection. The pieces become a palimpsest of sorts, subverting and transforming language, creating a new form.

Love Letters: Adoration - Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett, Friday 10 January, 1845

**_Love Letters_**

  
Acrylic, Graphite, and Conte Paintings on vintage book and paper.

  
Collection of love letters written by historical figures and famous lovers throughout the ages. The phrases of the hand-written pieces correspond to loving, passionate, sometimes humorous excerpts from each letter, the text partially obscured by paint ground.

  
In these pieces, I appropriate a pre-existing text, here letters, and obscure the original document which serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. The idea of covering is twofold: First, simply, that these are private letters. Intimate thoughts and words, often delivered in secret, hidden, intended only for two people, and their eyes alone. Secondly, the hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The unspoken that I believe exists in us all. As the words are concealed and the paint eventually dries, small, seemingly trivial details – random words and phrases emerge, as if bubbling from the subconscious, while the larger picture and context are erased.

  
The pieces are always painted and presented in a set of two, representing the duality of nature and suggesting that there are two sides to every story. Certainly, this work is about human emotion — the spectrum from love to hate, or indifference rather, and all the messiness in-between. While these pieces may seem simple in execution, the concept runs deeper. I take much time pondering, searching for just the correct phrase to write on the finished piece. It must resonate with me. If not initially, then after I obliterate the text. The words often find me. The paint, which resembles Rorschach inkblots, forms a ground from which I tease out words. I purposely scribble, giving the work a dashed-off quality, another metaphor for emotion. For me, anything "too perfect," too calligraphic would just be robotic and negate the feeling. Beauty in imperfection. The pieces become a palimpsest of sorts, subverting and transforming language, creating a new form.

Love Letters: Flirtation - George Farquhar to Anne Oldfield, Friday night, eleven o'clock, [1699?]

Love Letters: Laurence Sterne to Catherine de Fourmantel, London 176[0]

Love Letters:  Parting - Nadia Mandelstam to Osip Mandelstam, 22 October 1938

Love Letters: Alexander Pushkin to Natalia Pushkin, Boldino, 30 October 1833

Love Letters: Reflection - Honoré de Balzac to Madame Hanska, Friday 12 December, 1845

Love Letters: Invitation - Evelyn Waugh to Laura Herbert, 1936

Love Letters: Separation - Alexander Hamilton to his Wife, August 1781

Love Letters: Parting - Franz Kafka to Felice Bauer, 20 November 1912

Love Letters:  Instruction - Ninon de l'Enclos to Marquis de Sévigné [c. 1650]

Love Letters: Flirtation - Zelda Fitzgerald to F. Scott Fitzgerald, c. 1919

**_Love Letters_**

  
Acrylic, Graphite, and Conte Paintings on vintage book and paper.

Collection of love letters written by historical figures and famous lovers throughout the ages. The phrases of the hand-written pieces correspond to loving, passionate, sometimes humorous excerpts from each letter, the text partially obscured by paint ground.

  
In these pieces, I appropriate a pre-existing text, here letters, and obscure the original document which serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. The idea of covering is twofold: First, simply, that these are private letters. Intimate thoughts and words, often delivered in secret, hidden, intended only for two people, and their eyes alone. Secondly, the hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The unspoken that I believe exists in us all. As the words are concealed and the paint eventually dries, small, seemingly trivial details – random words and phrases emerge, as if bubbling from the subconscious, while the larger picture and context are erased.

The pieces are always painted and presented in a set of two, representing the duality of nature and suggesting that there are two sides to every story. Certainly, this work is about human emotion — the spectrum from love to hate, or indifference rather, and all the messiness in-between. While these pieces may seem simple in execution, the concept runs deeper. I take much time pondering, searching for just the correct phrase to write on the finished piece. It must resonate with me. If not initially, then after I obliterate the text. The words often find me. The paint, which resembles Rorschach inkblots, forms a ground from which I tease out words. I purposely scribble, giving the work a dashed-off quality, another metaphor for emotion. For me, anything "too perfect," too calligraphic would just be robotic and negate the feeling. Beauty in imperfection. The pieces become a palimpsest of sorts, subverting and transforming language, creating a new form.

Love Letters: Confession - Simone de Beauvoir to Jean-Paul Sartre, Wednesday, 27 July 1938

Love Letters: Confession - Gustave Flaubert to Louise Colet, Croisset, midnight 8-9 August, [1846]

Philosophers of the Smoking Room

The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.

The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, burning the edges – a nod to all of the smoking that’s going on - and obscuring most of the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface.  Some words remain uncovered and loosely allude to the context and quotes. 

Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.


Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir - On Being and Drunkenness (Or How to Party Like an Existentialist)

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jean-Paul Sartre - Monday Doesn't Really Start Until Tuesday

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Albert Camus - People are the Problem

Philosophers of the Smoking Room
The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.

The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, burning the edges – a nod to all of the smoking that’s going on - and obscuring most of the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface.  Some words remain uncovered and loosely allude to the context and quotes. 

Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.


Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir - 5 Minutes of Happiness (or Maybe That's All We Get at a Time)

Philosophers of the Smoking Room

The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.

The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, burning the edges – a nod to all of the smoking that’s going on - and obscuring most of the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface.  Some words remain uncovered and loosely allude to the context and quotes.

Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.


Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Simone de Beauvoir - At Least I Can Sleep at Night Knowing the Truth

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Roland Barthes - The Question is the Answer

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir - In the End, Nobody's Thinking About You

Philosophers of the Smoking Room 

The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.

​The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher/Theorist in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, obscuring the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface.

 Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.


Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jean Baudrillard - Caveat Emptor

Philosophers of the Smoking Room -  Jacques Derrida - Word Inoculation

Philosophers of the Smoking Room

The title of this series comes from a book published in 1908 titled “The Philosophers of the Smoking Room.” While this book pre-dates the work of the Philosophers in this series – I used the title because I found it humorous. Every person in the photos holds a cigarette or cigar – the clichéd, albeit romantic notion of a Philosopher.

The text on each piece is a quote from the writings of the Philosopher in the photo. I’ve painted over each photo, and then scratched off the paint, leaving only remnants. I’ve used another vintage philosophy book for the pages on each of these works, burning the edges – a nod to all of the smoking that’s going on - and obscuring most of the text with a thin layer of paint so the words hazily rise to the surface.  Some words remain uncovered and loosely allude to the context and quotes. 

Appropriating a pre-existing text and obscuring the original document serves to act as a mirror for the ideas, needs, and desires of the viewer. And is a direct nod to the writings of each of these philosophers and some of the concepts they address in their work. The hidden words act as a metaphor for the subconscious – an awareness and the thoughts that exist just under the surface, almost out of reach, barely perceptible. The “unspoken” I believe exists in us all.



Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Roland Barthes - Wounded by Words: A Seduction Story

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Jacques Lacan - Smokin' Hot

Philosophers of the Smoking Room - Albert Camus - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Love Letters - Simone de Beauvoir to Jean-Paul Sartre,  [Wednesday, 27 July 1938]

Love Letters - Gustave Flaubert to Louise Colet, Croisset, Friday 10 p.m.,  18 September 1846

Love Letters - Franz Kafka to Felice Bauer, 20 December 1912

Love Letters - Alexander Pushkin to Natalia Pushkin, Boldino, 30 October 1833

Love Letters - George Farquhar to Anne Oldfield, Sunday after Sermon, [1699?]

Love Letters: Parting - Lord Byron to Augusta Leigh, Venice, 17 May 1819

Love Letters: Separation - Richard Steele to Mary Scurlock,  Saturday night,  [30 August 1707]

Love Letters: Warning - Katherine Mansfield to Princess Bibesco, 24 March 1921 

Love Letters: Reflection - John Keats to Fanny Brawne, Thursday, 1 July 1819, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

Love Letters : Reflection - John Keats to Fanny Brawne, Thursday, 1 July 1819, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

Love Letters: Separation - Franz Kafka to Felice Bauer, 20 November 1912

Love Letters: Invitation - George Farquhar to Anne Oldfield,  Sunday, After Sermon, [1699?]

Love Letters: Confession - Laurence Sterne to Mrs. H., Coxwould, 12 October, 1767

Love Letters: Intoxication - Richard Steele to his Wife, 16 February 1716

Love Letters: Flirtation - Zelda Fitzgerald to F. Scott Fitzgerald, [c. 1919]

Love Letters: Instruction - Ninon de l'Enclos to Marquis de Sévigné [c. 1650?]

All works Acrylic and vintage book on linen finish paper, 30.5 x 30.5 cm.

La Petite Mort

Abstract collage works inspired by Marguerite Duras’ erotic novella 'The Lover' (L’Amant) – a sparse, disjointed, dreamy, almost hallucinatory minimal tale of love and cruelty. Of longing, absence, primitive need, and dislocation. The novel speaks to the language of dreams, the language of recollections. 

The title of the series, 'La Petite Mort' ("Little Death") – refers to the French expression meaning "the brief loss or weakening of consciousness,” and is generally used as a euphemism for orgasm. Modern usage refers specifically to "the sensation of post orgasm as likened to death.” More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm or to a short period of melancholy or transcendence as a result of the expenditure of the "life force." 

For modern philosophers, la petite mort is about more than just the physical act of sexual climax, it’s also about psychological loss. Some philosophers have theorized that la petite mort is about the spiritual release that comes with orgasm. This spiritual release, they argue, makes you temporarily “lose” yourself. Some scientists have linked this feeling to the release of oxytocin in the brain after an orgasm. For a philosopher like Roland Barthes, it’s a feeling that we can find beyond the bedroom.

Barthes spoke of la petite mort as the chief objective of reading literature. He used the concept of la petite mort, which he called "jouissance" (“bliss”), to describe how we should feel about reading certain books in his well-known work 'The Pleasure of the Text' (1973). A book that inspires feelings of "jouissance," he theorized, will cause readers to momentarily lose themselves in the work. 

We’re all familiar with the expression of “losing yourself in a good book,” but how many of us know that this concept was originally theorized in relation to a euphemism for orgasm? These paintings – excerpts of text taken from Duras’ erotic novel and placed in a different context – playfully suggest a subtle connection between sex and death and great literature.


La Petite Mort

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Cynthia Grow