Artist`s Statement - Kathleen Peterson - kathy-art

Artist's Statement - Kathleen Peterson
"Freedom in Love" expresses love and betrayal of country in the form of 7 multi-media
paintings. Painting and teaching art for over 22 years, I have been relying heavily on
freedom, yet I have not been directly attentive to it until now. This inattention is my own
silent betrayal of Liberty. Without Liberty, I could not do my art or my teaching. Denying
ourselves Liberty, or denying others freedom we ourselves want, disrespects Freedom
and human dignity, atrocities against the wellsprings of art and of rights. Returning to my
canvas, and having always insisted Art is Truth, this series ruthlessly documents the
majesty of Liberty and atrocities against Liberty.
About 220,000 San Diego area schoolchildren in grades K-8, along with my own two
children, taught me the values of freedom and authenticity. All of these students
completed the Artcorps program which I founded in 1985. www.artcorpssd.com In the 22
years of Artcorps, and with the help of around 1000 parent and community volunteers
annually, Artcorps has followed three cardinal rules of freedom:
(1) Never change or interfere with a child’s art, and
(2) Never call any child’s artistic response a "wrong answer" in any way,
and
(3) Never allow erasers, because there are no mistakes. By honoring the
freedom of the artistic spirit in these children, the student art shows never
fail to convince doubters about the vital power of Art.
My earlier artworks explore Freedom of the inner path (the soul) rather than the outer
path (community and/or democracy). Every person has inner and outer paths, and hopes
to find acceptance inside themselves as well as in the world. My artistic process all my
life has been to turn myself inside out, to pour guts on canvas, and paint intensively and
passionately for days at a time. I paint what pours out of my source, what feels right; I
paint as the paint tells me to paint. I feel best while creating. I have always tried to rise
above the constant motion of life to find truth or balance, uplifting others in the process.
Before putting paint to canvas for this latest series on the outer path, my preparatory
process included
(1) four intense years of research,
(2) posting tens of millions of lines of political discourse and images
among over 12,000 blog posts, and
(3) actively listening to the opinions of others contained in the responses
to my posts. I learned much, and the core of this is present in "Freedom in
Love."
Notable similarities emerge between my earlier work on the path of the soul and my
present work on the path of freedom and democracy. In both, windows represent seeing,
or ways out, and pathways symbolize journey. Trees traditionally represent soul, their
gnarled qualities a reflection of the forces that buffet them. Birds are wildness, but also
observers, the "nonvoters" of nature who still see with dignity and a worthy opinion.
Stars and moons are elemental forces of nature and soul-guides. In democracy they are
the guide-stars of ideals or principles, lighting the way down the path of democracy. I
feel this series of paintings reveals both inner and outer paths as the same journey.
However, turning myself inside out on the subject of freedom and democracy exhibits
stylistic qualities never before present in my work. One new quality has been described
as "hip-hop sampling" because the busy-ness of the painting accurately reflects today’s
informational environment of high speed media. For this effect, I used juxtaposition and
limited white space, with materials including acrylics, pencil, pen, inks, paper, image
snippets, string, sand and paste.
Sometimes one can see our nation’s core principles in these paintings, at other times one
can not. President McKinley said, "Our differences are politics. Our agreements are
principles." Authentic American politics discusses the actions that best uphold our shared
principles. Given American agreement on principles, when we can not see our most
important shared ideals in the media or in the paint of "Freedom in Love," we may ask
"Why are our most important principles missing?"
This absence of principles from politics was never intended. The Founders warned that
"frequently recurring to fundamental principles is necessary for the preservation of liberty
and free government". Besides separation of church and state, the Founders believed
every person was created in the image of God, endowed by the Creator with certain
inalienable rights, and contained a divine spark in their soul which could be brought to
the flame that ultimately sustains progress. "Freedom in Love" is my desire to spark
soulsearching discussion and responses, wrapped in my unutterable conviction that
democracy is a path that honors us all. I’ve learned Freedom doesn’t take sides, but rather
humbly invites the wrong and the right equally. We keep freedom alive by honoring that
gift and speaking from the heart. Freedom is only betrayed by silence on things that
matter. That silence snuffs out the divine spark in us all.
I long for meaningful discussion of our shared values as Americans; I fear only the sound
of silence. In the spirit of progressive hope, and while honoring tradition, I poured out my
life, heart and soul into the hope of showing the spark of democracy within the paint. I
submit my deep longing for the fireworks of a greater democratic deliberation, one that
serves us all, as the hoped for result of the sparks in "Freedom in Love."
M. Kathleen Peterson
Freedom In Love
Staged Elections
M. Kathleen Peterson
Inconvenient Truth
“Freedom In Love”
2007
Resumé
M. Kathleen Peterson
13650 Overland Pass
Poway, CA 92064
artcorps@san.rr.com
Education
1992
Career
1986-2007 Founder and Director: Art Corps
Art Corps www.artcorpssd.com is a Volunteer Based Program
which introduces elementary and middle-school students to the
basics of art. I have written the curriculum and infrastructure
guidelines and we are now at 15 schools in the San Diego area.
We have over 1000 volunteers and 12,000 students per year.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, magna cum laude
San Diego State University
SOLO Exhibitions
1997 Tustin Renaissance Gallery
300 El Camino Real
Tustin, California
Group Exhibitions
1995 First Annual La Jolla Village Art
Competitions
Art Prospect 1994
La Jolla, CA
Annual Juried Exhibition
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
La Jolla, CA
San Diego Art Institute
April Installation
San Diego, CA
1994
Artists Choose Artists
San Diego Art Institute
San Diego, CA
Scene Unseen III
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, NM
Main Street Fine Arts Exhibition
Continental Plaza Bldg.
Fort Worth, TX
Here & Now
Northlight Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
Art As Food For The Eyes
Student Union Art Gallery, SFSU
San Francisco, CA
Count Down 2000
Gallery 1078
Chico, CA
Positive/Negative
E. Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN
NoHo Gallery
New York, NY
North County Artist Coop
Escondido, CA
Celebration of the Arts
Long Beach, CA
San Diego Art Institute
San Diego, CA
B Street Gallery
San Diego, CA
1992 Athenaem Music and Art Gallery
La Jolla, CA
Awards
1993 Bronze Award
Art of California Magazine
1994 Best Of Show
Main Street Fine Arts Exhibition
Fort Worth, TX
Special Recognition Award
Bay Street Galleria
Newport Beach, CA
2007 Contract Awards (1988-present)
San Diego area schools Renewed formal contracts
each year at all schools, including Tierrasanta
Elementary for 18 years, adding one or two
schools per year, with 15 schools now awarded.