PAM BURNLEY-SCHOL

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work concentrates primarily on use of the still life image and occasionally landscape, as personal icon.  My reference images are often taken from nature, and are selected by me with an intuitive attraction to form and for their sense of intrinsic beauty.

I sometimes refer to these images as ‘secular icons’.  The explanation of the my self-made term originates in the writings of Madeleine L’engle.  Like the ancient tradition of icon painting, the modern family snapshot has often been a sign or representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it.  In her book, Penguins + Golden Calves, Madeleine L’Engle explains how ordinary things – family, words, the Bible, heaven, even penguins – can become icons, windows revealing the glory of God.  “An icon is something I can look through to get a wider glimpse of God.”

 “Our need for icons begins in early childhood when we hold on to the favorite little piece of blanket or the beloved stuffed animal.  The blanket is not a blanket, nor is the animal a mere animal; they are icons of all-rightness in a world that early shows itself to be not all right.  They are icons of tender love in a society that daily becomes more brutal and violent.”  - M. L’engle

 In this way, the snapshot of an individual, place or object, which is venerated as ‘precious’, is itself venerated as icon. Consider the tradition of soldiers carrying a picture of their children or sweethearts into battle, or the inclination of most people to save the family photos first, when faced with fire, flood, or tornado.  L’Engle also states that an icon, if it becomes a mirror reflecting itself instead of a window on God, turns into an idol. My secular icons are intended to celebrate that which is greater than ourselves in a dark time when God is increasingly in question, but when reflection on beauty is in itself sometimes an act of faith.

 When creating commissioned paintings, I have found that the desired image of the subject to be portrayed is most often an ideal in the mind of the client, not a physical reality.  Photos of the subject are seldom as informative as the interview with the client, discussing the specific, quintessential attributes that make up the iconic recollection of the subject in the client’s mind.  In this way, memory becomes hyper reality, & in turn, is perceived as icon. 

 In the same way, the subject matter of blooming flora, flying insects, and still life objects are selected by me to reflect the subjective iconic meaning that they present to me. This is often accompanied by an ineffable sense of awe, endearment, or even humor.

 It is my intent to elevate these ordinary snapshots so that they convey to the public that sense of deep, but perhaps intangible significance that was held by the original viewer.  To quote L’Engle again, “An icon is more than a simile; it is a metaphor, containing within itself something of the indescribable, so that the need for description vanishes.”

My use of common materials has been paired with precious 24k gold leaf as is found in traditional liturgical art, in order to celebrate as icon, those fleeting details of daily life that are usually considered ordinary.

-       Pam Burnley-Schol