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Where Do Ideas Come From, ‘Lavinia Forgotten’
The creative process is an amazing thing. How an idea emerges and the process is worth remembering; how it happened, where it happened, what brought it on.
‘Lavinia Forgotten’ is one of my favorite pieces. The photograph was originally shot in my Siesta Key Studio back in the late 70’s. I’ve printed the image in the darkroom many times. But as I started moving in the direction of photo mixed media, it was an image I thought might be interesting to work on, but couldn’t seem to find how.
One evening I caught a 1999 film ‘Titus’. It was a remake of Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Titus Andronicus’. What a great film, with a great supporting cast; Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange and Alan Cumming to name a few. If you don’t know this tragedy, it’s about the downfall of Titus Andronicus the Roman ruler of Britain and his violent relationship with the defeated Tamora, Queen of the Goths. The relationship comes to a head when Tamora’s sons rape and brutalize Lavinia, the daughter of Titus. They go so far as to cut off her hands and rap her wrists with sticks. When I saw that scene, I connected the photographic image to the story and the allegorical piece was created.
‘Lavinia Forgotten’ is 72″h x 60″w, photo mixed media and is on loan to the City Gym in downtown St. Pete. It is available for purchase.
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