I Imagine: Paintings in the Narrative Tradition by Susan Reid Danton
Welcome to I IMAGINE, a celebration of the unrelenting internal image! Temporal and spiritual in both process and context, these works serve to illuminate my ongoing reach toward self and world awareness and understanding, deeply and without reservation.
"Susan's ... image comes out of her vibrant curiosity, her fascination with life, her search for meaning, her exceptional talent and, yes, her fertile imagination." Deborah Forman
I imagine. Those were the final words my darling mum spoke before leaving her beautiful human form on September 20th of this year. I was blessed to be at her side during her transition, and she was mighty to behold, equally in death as in life. It would be utterly unseemly not to honor her memory with this show. My mother, I now realize in exquisite clarity, guided, nurtured and challenged the very core of who I am, as you are about to witness through my art. Essentially, she is in the room with me — at every step, between the many details of my life and me, her spirit intervenes and informs me of who I really am. She was and is yet my chief artistic muse, and if you look closely, you will find her dancing amid the stories before you. This show is well-titled.
Edith Canning White. In life, a formidable aesthetic & cherished muse.
Edith Canning White was the “White” in Miller White, the “Miller” being her aunt, Dorothy Canning Miller, MoMA-NYC’s first and chief builder of its extraordinary modern art collection over three decades. Another formidable aesthetic and my most cherished organizational muse for the establishment of Miller White. Between these two stellar influences, I was well guided, nurtured & challenged, every step of the way.
The artist's mother, Edith Canning White.
My Process: The Internal Image
In point of fact, I do not employ the term “internal image” as an art world catchphrase; I literally paint from a scribble, a dream or upon the remains of a former work and, thusly, permit the image to emerge. Very scary! Extreme courage is required of me to even invite self-awareness out of near nothingness. It is itself a noble and ennobling act. All artists know this instinctively and are natural, often supreme problem-solvers. But it takes work.
L to R: "Fata Morgana," "Leaving the World a Better Place" and "Sea Glitter"
A Dialogue ensues ...
When the image arrives, we begin what often becomes a rollercoaster ride to formulate an agenda that has even a chance of becoming a mutually pleasing consensus. Often, these formulations are mutually exclusive and we, the players, are forced into humble acknowledgement of one another’s fluctuating superiority. In other words, I have only so much talent, experience and ambition with which to succeed at coherency, and the image may have vastly different ideas as to process and product.
L to R: "Affinity," "Haumea's Kiss" & "Pursuit"
... and the Relationship puts down roots.
I can’t speak for the image, but I know that I always learn something valuable about myself while toiling at the easel. Its a dance of many moving parts and, rather than imperil, vouchsafes my personal evolution. That is what my mother always wanted, nay demanded, for me and she taught me well. I will submit again and again that, in my role as artist, she is my greatest and most cherished muse.
L to R: "Ten" and "Fata Morgana"
These are Narrative pieces ... but, whose?
Permit an alternate definition of that tradition. The narratives are not indicative of actual events in my own life. The truth of where they came from is unavailable to me. I only know that they exist. I write extensively about them, to amplify the joy, terror & utter wonderment at their presence. However, they are not my personal archetypes; rather, they are archetypal in scope only if the viewer can see, feel & personally relate. The true narrative is actually, specifically your own.
L to R: "Green Goddess Dressing," "Ten" and "Swimming with Cetaceans"
Art is, first and foremost, an agent for change.
There is nothing more important than you allowing your life to be changed by art. Again, a crucial truth that these active parties in this space — Miller, White and Danton — have, both individually and collectively, dedicated their lives to, and underscores the show’s noble if not slightly wistful title.
May these works, in some palpable way, bless and protect your own dreams and visions.
L to R: "Repose," "Making Waves" and "Haumea's Kiss"
