You, Revolution: Talladega artist inspires others through paintings
It's easy to forget yourself. Beneath the 40 hours a week, the eventual kids, the eternal bills — you're buried. We're all born with a shovel and a calling, though most of us quickly trade our calling for another shovel and, eventually, the nicest bulldozer two shovels can buy. Then, we dig. I met Dr. Art Bacon on a crisp Thursday morning at his Talladega studio, nestled deep into the woods at the end of a rattling dirt road. It's the perfect design, really … reclusive, but in a flattering way; conducive to a creativity beyond that ever achieved in a noisy city apartment or, better yet, my childhood bedroom. Dr. Bacon, an artist with an ironic doctorate in Zoology, is a calm, gentle man with an obvious passion for the artistic exploration of all sides of the human condition. As I open the door to the studio, I'm floored by a fresh acrylic painting depicting two women, a young man, and a baby rafting across a river — Dr. Bacon calls this "Flight to Freedom" — with a different emotion spread across each subject's face. The woman in the middle, holding the baby, appears to have given up almost entirely while the woman on the right is pressing on with a determined anger. Both are longing for any escape at all. The young man is paddling, and though his face isn't entirely visible, he seems to have an almost optimistic aura about what awaits them. … and we keep digging, letting the dirt sift and settle when needed. The photo albums and smiles we dust off at family dinners and get-togethers are mere traces of a truer self. We can't really remember what our "callings" ever were; most of us assuming they never existed. Do I have a purpose? "Who I am results in the work I do," said Dr. Bacon, when asked if his work defines him as a person. Dr. Bacon, who's been drawing and painting for more than 60 years, was aware of his own potential from childhood. "Artists have to believe in what they're doing," he said. Dr. Bacon has a comforting ease around his work that warrants open, honest conversation; for him, painting is home. At the beginning of the interview, he mentioned adding a moon to "Flight to Freedom," to which I half-seriously suggested he place in the corner of the painting. He followed through with this, completely transforming the painting into something even more vivid, with a depth and certainty evidenced in the layers of emotion in the yellow and hints of blue found in the moon and water below. Witnessing someone in their true calling is an Places, Faces, SpacesWhat: Exhibition of paintings and drawings of the rural South by Dr. Art Bacon |
||
|
|
