Friday Flashback- screaming silently

This one titled screaming (silently) with words...comes from all the way back in 2009. Since I mentioned Tracey Emin this week this flashback seemed appropriate.  Enjoy...




I poked into the Brooklyn Arts Council last week to see their show Clamoring to Become Visible and really loved the work of the young artist Jen May.

For a sense of the personality of Jen her bio states:
Jen May was born the same year that Madonna’s "Like A Virgin" was almost the top single in America...Jen supports the United Friendship movement and loves cats. She is currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY.


I really love the honesty and bravado in her text base works.
In many ways they remind me of Tracey Emin's quilts and Mono prints. Even Jen's style of hand writing and her direct almost aggressive hand in drawing recalls Emin.
However, I think there is more inner laughter and less tragedy in Jen's work. She is being honest but also seems to be humored by its self indulgence...where as Emin does not seem to know or care about her self indulgent attitude toward her life and work. (ofcourse I know that this is why we love her, Emin's, work)

I like that Jen's work breaks my heart a little, makes me laugh out loud a little, and rings so true to myself a little.
I am very curious where she will go as she matures as an artist... her installation project looked very interesting too.