Faldum

Stephanie Pierce – Faldum

In this painting by Stephanie Pierce called “Faldum”, I see an image that captures the repetition of an activity stretched over many days, months and seasons. The thought that this image inspires for me, is that the body depicted assumes this posture each day – what changes is the slight inconsistencies in posture & the changing light of seasons (I see both changing angles of light on the wall and the changing temperatures – the golden light of fall and the blue light of spring). To build on this theme, the bed itself seems to suggest the seasons, on the left I see snowy winter, on the right green spring and summer, in the middle fall. So, this painting is not a painting of a moment, or a person, but rather of a repetition or recurrence. Any sense of recognizable identity is dissolved – the body is only partially coherent, in a state of perpetual departure and return. I think this is a terrific achievement in visual form-making. Stephanie received her MFA from University of Washington, Seattle in 2006.