The Corner of Your Eye

Here you'll see startling displays of emotions popular the world over! Presented by Empresaria Alice Thud, III. A carnival of old shadowy emotions, collected by Thud's grandmother, has come to town. Here, the emotions are the entertainment.

Artist statement
We seek entertainment in order to feel emotions: a sad movie, a thrill ride, a video game. Drama.
Feelings.

While some of these works are funny and self-explanatory, there's one that's more nuanced. In the piece titled World Famous Hunger Artist, (not pictured above) three of my favorite artworks are referenced.

One is the Franz Kafka story, A Hunger Artist. While it might call to mind the old cliche of the starving artist, it's different than that. The story depicts a once-famous, proud, perfectionist artist, literally caged, whose practice is starvation. The perfection of his art means his death. He resents that the audience and the official watchers don't recognize his achievement or authenticity. They assume he's a fake and intentionally look away in order to give him a chance to cheat, but he would never cheat and is insulted that anyone would even consider that possibility.

In Melencolia I, an engraving by Albrecht Durer (1514), an emaciated, sleeping dog lays near a seated angel or winged genius of artistic inspiration. At that time, the guardian spirit of inspiration for an artist was called a genius. But this guardian angel, or genius, with her head resting on her hand, is bereft of inspiration. In my piece, the winged genius is notably absent.

The Lion for Real, a poem by Allen Ginsberg (1958), depicts a starving lion stalking a poet, intending to eat him. The lion represents god or divine inspiration — his muse, his winged genius. Ginsberg's poet frantically avoids being consumed by its fearsome power, but ultimately waits for it to return to eat him.

These works depict artists at odds with themselves, their art and the muse. One is literally caged. One has a fear of being consumed, while another has a desire to be consumed. These works are conversations with creative hunger and longing, a longing for something ineffable and unnameable, just beyond reach.

Donna Pardue is a multidisciplinary artist living in Austin, Texas. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows, primarily in Texas. She was the co-founder and co-curator of Epitome Institute in San Antonio, as Alice Thud, III. She has a BFA in Painting. She is also a musician. Her instrument is 3 row button accordion.

Technical assistance and vocals for audio were provided by Gene Vandiver. He is a visual artist, theatre artist, and musician.