Saudade

Date

2016-08-05

Authors

Eriksmoen, Ashley

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Gerry Lenfest Gallery

Abstract

saudade: noun (in Portuguese folk culture) a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent.* When I first sketched this image, I was 'alone' on a commercial jet plane. The sketch held a deep feeling of separation and parting for which I could not find the words. I could not tell if I was drawing a floating heart that was lifting like a fresh balloon over a shed skin, or if it was a deflating, draining heart over a shadow puddle of blood. Or both at once. I connected this image with the empathy and sorrow I associate with the visceral, societal feelings of losses resulting from gun violence in America. I spent a long time with this image, painting and working layer after layer, all the way down to the subtle gunmetal/hematite colour of the frame. Finally, I found a word that conveyed the feeling I sought to capture in this image: saudade.

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Citation

Source

allTURNatives: Form + Spirit 2016

Type

Creative work

Book Title

Entity type

Access Statement

Free Access via publisher website

License Rights

DOI

Restricted until

2099-12-31

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