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L I S A R O S E N M E I E R
Now What
2018
acrylic on canvas
30 x 17 in
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Immigration, Migration, or Colonization. What do we do when someone new shows up, and what will they do? So, whether by choice or not, when people end up some place new, what will happen next? History has shown that sometimes the strangers are welcomed with open arms and other times they are chastised and discriminated against. Yet there are times in history that has shown us it is the new comer that is the aggressor. I froze the moment in time just before each side makes their chose on how they are going to react to each other. Even though I used symbolism based on the European move to the Americas, it still transcends time and place. Because it sits at the heart of human nature and in truth, we are all the same regardless of our differences.
The symbolism in this piece broken down:
The Horse – Reflects on when the first Europeans landed on the shores of North America. The horse was not indigenous to the continent and was later introduced, making it the perfect animals to symbolize the newcomer.
The Deer – Since I used North America as the base, the deer represents the people who are already occupying the land. Deer is indigenous to the area.
The Boat – Is used to represent the travels the newcomers had to make in order to reach the new area.
Sidenote about the Deer and Horse; Both are four legged, short haired, herbivores who travel in herds, making them very similar and requiring similar resources. However, they are still very different.
This piece was created for a juried exhibit at the Jepson Museum in Savannah, Georgia. It later was selected to be placed on a billboard in Sarasota, Florida.
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