Cady Noland, Rosemarie Trockel, Albert Oehlen, to name
a few of the artists—but it was her own work, paintings
characterized by heavy, intense impasto, which riveted
my attention. The first painting, to me, seemed to be of
a female figure—possibly a Madonna or Magdalene—
surrounded by dark red roses resembling those configured
in Mackintosh's 'Rose and Teardrop' pattern. To my
surprise, Petra informed me that this is a Christ figure, albeit
"slightly androgynous." Something in me responded to this
unorthodox representation, an admission of the feminine
into Christian iconography, heretofore limited, even
restricted. The second painting, of a huge, rose-colored,
encrusted heart, is, Petra told me, an incarnation of "my
own heart, many times broken." She had merely spelled
out for me what was already transmitted by the paintings
themselves: the beauty and suffering inherent in passion.
It is this intensity, religious or emotional, that is missing in
contemporary representations of the Rose. Sentimentality
has no place in real emotion, or, for that matter, in art. The
works of MacDonald and Singh, in time so far apart yet
so intimately related, revive the more subtle meanings of
this ancient symbol. H Lisa Zeiger
Steve Szklarski
szknyc@aol.com
Photography by
HYLAND
