Culture Clash 2011
Narratives 

​MENNONITE PREACHER
The liturgical black, plain suit worn by my father was a significant visual symbol for me, and an ever-present reminder of our “non-conformity” to the world. He died, never learning of early Dutch Mennonites’ activity in the arts.

RED SWATH 
Cultivation markings were prominent, contrasting dark, moist subsoil with dry gray top soil.  Farming and painting are in some ways similar.  Priming a canvas with gesso to receive paint reminds me of preparing the seed bed for grain.

PEACE DOVE 
This image symbolizes an important characteristic of Mennonite religious beliefs.  Picasso’s lithograph of a white dove shown at the Museum of Modern Art inspired my dove of peace, an image etched and enhanced with carborundum.

DAKOTA FIELDS 
Uniformity of the Midwest flatland invites examination of detail.  The shadowed furrow left by a plow, cultivation markings - unexpected color combinations are intensified and dramatized. Artists observe the daring color that happens in nature.

AGRARIAN II 
Each day a plane carrying US Mail flew over our fields as I worked the land in Dakota, sometimes so low I’d wave.  I tried to imagine how these  fields appeared to the pilot, and what design configuration and color was evident. 

CROSS BEAMS 
Non-conformity to the world was “our cross to bear” in the secular society.  The cross beam’s motif in our barn was, for me, a visual reminder of my father’s admonitions. Painting on shaped canvas is significant in that it broadens the aesthetic.

RED NECKTIE 
We saw ourselves in contrast to the world ‘out there’ and seemed to know exactly when we crossed over into it.  I learned to recognize this boundary when I lingered over a red tie, only to hear my father say, “Too bright and worldly”.

JOHN DEERE TRACTORS 
I drove a John Deere model A tractor eight hours a day in the fields of North Dakota.  The tractor’s green color changed with the time of day, weather changes, and of course, my attitude. (A tribute to Monet’s ‘Haystacks’)