| |
From his earliest
memories John Kaly recalls being fascinated with handmade images--drawings,
paintings, etc. He found great pleasure in the activity of image-making
from an early age, a practice that has provided both great challenges
and immense pleasure throughout his life. There was something
about the mystery and "magic" of images that led him
to the study of art history in college. The more he delved into
the study of art, the more enigmatic and inscrutable he found
these objects to be. Eventually he focused his studies on Early
Modern European art because this period is marked by a heightened
sense of the contingency of style and representational techniques,
and therefore, exemplifies with tremendous force the power and
mystery of images.
In 1997, while pursuing his Ph.D. in art history, John developed
serious and chronic health problems (diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome), which prevented him from continuing his studies. Subsequently
he focused more attention on image-making, particularly painting.
Through the symbolic language of art, he has been able to explore
some of the same fundamental questions concerning images that
drew him to the study of art history some years ago. In this regard,
painting has become for him a form of questioning and exploration.
However, unlike the scientific method of experimentation, experiments
in painting rarely seem to yield articulable answers. Nevertheless,
he finds that they are evocative of something essentially human,
and perhaps, as much, inhuman.
|
|
