Anna L. Conti: Community

San Fransisco artist and fellow blogger, Anna L. Conti, continues my recent project by writing about "community." As usual, I extend an invitation to all local artists who would like to participate in this effort. Just email me!

Invocation
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 30"
2003

Anna L. Conti: Community

I've been told by many people that my work reflects the community where I live - San Francisco and especially the outer Sunset District (the flat lands near the ocean.) I can see when it's pointed out to me that yes, my work is anchored in San Francisco. But this is more by default than by design.

I'm actually making pictures about ideas. I'm just using the things and places around me to express those ideas.

I tend to think in pictures more than words. I didn't realize that many people think in words until I was about thirty years old. I was helping a friend (a writer) recover from brain surgery. The language center in the left side of her brain was damaged and she had to learn to speak, read, and write all over again.

Right after surgery she'd look at an empty water glass and say something like, "Time to clean the pool," and her family would act like she was crazy, but I knew she just wanted something to drink. It was the image of someone stirring the water and inserting a sucking hose versus the image of the empty glass, that made the connection obvious to me. Later, I'd sit in her kitchen, hold up a spoon and say "What is this?" She'd sometimes reply "moon," and I was mystified. I could understand confusing "spoon" with "fork," but what did "spoon" and "moon" have in common? Eventually, when she could speak well enough to converse with me about what she was thinking, she explained that before her surgery, when she heard the sound "spoon," she saw the letters in the word. Now, it was frustrating her to get the picture first, and then have to struggle for the word. She kept trying to do it the old way, but the letters kept getting mixed up.

This stunned me, because I always get the picture first and often struggle for the words. I still find it almost impossible to imagine what it feels like (looks like) to have thoughts made up of words.

The translation from pictures to words is imperfect, much like the translation of a poem from Farsi to English will always be approximate, not exact. This doesn't stop me from enjoying Coleman Bark's interpretations of Rumi, but I never kid myself that I'm understanding the poetry in the same way Rumi intended.

This may be why I've always had a strong interest in symbolism. There are hundreds of symbolic systems in use, and each one is a different language, but they're all visual languages. They're based on images of the world around us, so they share many similarities, like the Latin languages are related to each other. As a picture thinker, I use the visuals available to me in my community to construct my own symbolic language. These paintings elicit such strong reactions from local residents, that I know many of them are reading the painting in the way I intended it.

Industries Sunset
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 36"
2004

Previous Posts:

Charles Neenan: Tradition
Kelly Towles: Color
Ryan Mulligan: Originality
Matt Hollis: Confinement
Dean Fueroghne: Originality
James W. Bailey: Obligation
J. Coleman: Depiction
Andy Moon Wilson: Decision
Molly Springfield: Language
Bryan Whitson: Scene
Elyse Harrison: Motivation
Jiha Moon Wilson: Influence
Alexandra Silverthorne: Derivative
Jose Ruiz: Contemporary
Kathleen Shafer: Focus
Jennifer McMackon: Connection
Gregg Chadwick: Responsibility
Warren Craghead: Material
Angela Kleis: Purpose
Peter Reginato: Order

Comments

[gregg chadwick]

anna, really interesting thoughts and incredibly well-written even for one who thinks in images. in a sense, the images that you create are a language and are part of a larger non-verbal community. many will argue that in this age of adverts and sound-bites the potential power of the image has been lost or worse co-opted into a cynical consumerist cycle. your paintings and the ideas behind them prove otherwise.

[Marja-Leena]

I faitfully read Anna's wonderful blog and never find her struggling for words!

Anna, you have stunned me too, by saying you think in pictures. Until you wrote this, I did not realize that I do too! I am always trying to find words for ideas and images in my head, and to this day I struggle with verbalizing and writing. Nice to know why - thank you!

[Lenny]

Those are very intelligent and eloquent paintings... I am very impressed!