Mary Becker Weiss : Brunswick Maine : Assemblage and Collage: Victor Hugo

Showing posts with label Victor Hugo. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 19

“No matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back!” ~ Camus

"PRINCE OF PEACE,”

“MATERIAL WITNESS”

and “A MOVEABLE FEAST"

“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.

In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.

I realized, through it all, that…

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” ~ Albert Camus

“RISE"

"UNDAUNTED"

"I STAND AMONG THEM

BUT NOT OF THEM"

"THE STORY OF MY HEART"

"14th Amendment"

"SUMMER IN PROVENCE"

"EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE"

“BIORYTHM”

Friday, February 7

ASSEMBLAGES OF ANTIQUES, EPHEMERA AND FOUND OBJECTS : Mary Becker Weiss

Assemblages comfort me.

As I have learned to let go of the reins in creating new mixed media and encaustic art pieces, there is a part of me still that demands structure and definition (old habits die hard).

In an assemblage made up of many found objects which have been discarded and abandoned, those elements are brought together to become a thing of beauty with new purpose. There is a comfort in breathing new life into that which has been destroyed or lost.

I am frequently asked how long it takes to make one of my assemblages. With "Material Witness," "Long Journey Back to Myself" and "A Moveable Feast," my answer is "sixty years and two months..." ~ MBW

"THE STORY OF MY HEART"

“RISE"

"EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE"

"UNDAUNTED"

"I STAND AMONG THEM BUT NOT OF THEM"

"SUMMER IN PROVENCE"

Assemblage of Found Objects

BIORYTHM

Assemblage of Found Objects

Testimonials:

MS from Maryland says: "Your assemblages are particularly strong. I love the detail and cleanness of the small pieces, intimately put together in Two Perspectives and One Vanishing Point. It is somehow very soothing." ~ MS

From a visitor in the Brunswick Outdoor Art Festival: "Your assemblages remind me of that Joseph Campbell guy (Cornell) ~ you know that hermit who lived in his mother's basement all his life...."

Tuesday, June 7

Assemblage of Antiques, Ephemera and Found Objects: "It's All in the Detail"

"A Love Letter to Victor Hugo"

"This montage was inspired by a passionate letter written in 1847 by a young French actress named Juliette Drouet to Victor Hugo, with whom she had a liaison for more than 50 years.

In the beginning, I was furious with Juliette's acquiescing her life to Victor Hugo. I fought with the re-assemblage of the clock on canvas and it resisted me tooth and nail. Out of frustration, I put the project aside for weeks.

Slowly I began to perceive Juliette's love of Victor Hugo not as a surrendering of her life to him, but on the contrary, her embracing something that was larger than either one of them. A receiving and giving of unconditional love, love that could not be measured or defined or predictable. I went back to the assemblage, now seeing it from a completely new perspective.

I laid the structural panels aside, moved the hands away from the center (you have NO IDEA how difficult that was for me!) In other words, A Love Letter to Victor Hugo took on a life of its own ~ undefined, unconventional and completely vulnerable. A light bulb went off.

I have to say it was an artistic turning point for me. A Love Letter to Victor Hugo is an homage to Juliette Drouet, a metaphor for her willingness and ability to remain vulnerable for more than fifty years. A life lesson learned so many years later ~ that Juliette Drouet's surrender was not a measure of her weakness but rather a measure of her strength." ~ Mary Becker Weiss 2012

"Imagine the Possibilities"

"Undaunted"

Assemblage of Antiques, Ephemera and Found Objects

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It is yours.” ~ Ayn Rand

More Assemblages

Testimonials:

From a visitor in the Brunswick Outdoor Art Festival: "Your assemblages remind me of that Joseph Campbell guy (Cornell) ~ you know that hermit who lived in his mother's basement all his life."

R. M. from South Bristol said...
Mary, the lower portion of your "magic box" assemblage plunges my mind into the memories of travel all the way back to my days as a North Dakota farm boy who 1st opened the drawer (previously always locked) to my foster father's great old desk. In the drawer was stuff of "wonderment" for me. The top portion of the "magic box' sends my mind out over the travel memories that can never be forgotten. I hear train whistles and see images that only can be experienced 1st hand.