New Painting: "Don't You Remember?"

Don't You Remember?

39'' x 16''

Acrylic and Wire on Stretched Canvas

With this third painting in my Brain series, I explore memory.

How's your memory?

I know mine isn't as sharp as I would like it to be. Sometimes I remember something with little effort yet most of the time, it takes several links being connected for a memory to come back. There are times as well when I wouldn't recall something at all. I know at least that I have plenty of company when it comes to such things.

Trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

The composition for this painting came together fairly quickly. Minimal colors or distractions. Painting the brain as wire and including my hands were always in the original idea. Hanging the brain from a wire freed up my hands to work on connecting remaining wires.

Sometimes recalling one instance can lead to similar memories surfacing.

I've represented the brain using wire. Real wire is actually incorporated into the piece as well. The twisted wire is attached from the top of the canvas and ends at the top of the brain. I chose to represent the brain with wire because I feel that connections need to be made for a memory to surface. Showing that wires are linked or bonded together is done by painting 2 or more wires twisted together throughout the brain structure.

 Friends give clues, I try to make the connection

You'll see that there are parts of the wire that are not connected. I chose to include my hands trying to connect those wires. This is how I'm representing the effort it takes for me to recall some things. Places, dates, people are some clues that help remind me of something that happened. 

There is a reason the wires are disconnected at the bottom part of the brain: Temporal Lobe

The temporal lobe, houses the part of the brain that controls memory called hippocampus. It happens to be located in the southern hemisphere of the brain. Therefore that seems like an appropriate area to have the wires disconnected. Of course my paintings are not trying to be anatomically accurate but it's interesting to learn more about how the brain works during the progression of this series.

As usual, here are some in progress shots:

Brain series (so far):
Painting 1: Past, Present, Future or Dreaming
http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-painting-which-image-matches-your.html

Painting 2: Caffeine Headache
http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/10/caffeine-headache.html