"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture
and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words." ~Goethe

~ also, if possible, to dwell in "a house where all's accustomed, ceremonious." ~Yeats

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Perfect Twins:
Going Out, Coming In

ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
Delilah Pierce: Twins, 1952

As I've mentioned before on my Quotidian blog,
I love it when Barbra Streisand sings:

Everything
I want to learn what life is for
I don’t want much, I just want more
Ask what I want and I will sing
I want everything (everything) . . .

I’d like to have the perfect twin
One who’d go out as I came in

I’ve got to grab the big brass ring
So I’ll have everything (everything) . . .

written by Randy Scruggs & Nikki Williams
sung by Barbra Streisand

The fact is, I do have the perfect twin, perfect in his own way. Yet, like Streisand, I've often wished for a doppelganger, a double - goer, making it possible for me to work twice as hard and play twice as long and never sleep and stay caught up with all y chores and tasks and goals and plans and expectations. One who'd go out when I came in!

Entirely without meaning to -- and not just because I'm a Gemini! -- that's what I began to see last month when I visited The Maryland Artist Collection in the University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center. As I glanced around the UMUC Art Gallery, twins and doubles were everywhere I looked. It's not as if the exhibit was billed as one of twinned images and double - goers; it was just an amazing coincidence!

And a timely coincidence to contemplate in January, the month of double vision! Inadvertently, these artworks invoke Janus, the Roman god of doors, choices, beginnings and endings, with two faces, one facing forwards and one facing backwards, representing time, looking into the past with one face and into the future with the other (Click For More). Could that be what lies behind the mesmerizing tendency of each of these artists to double up? Take a look:

Twin Portraits

Twin Models
Megan O'Brien: Contours and Elevations, 1995

Twin Photographs
Linda Harrison - Parsons, Tarnished Memories, 1994

Twin Jokers
Kay McCrohan: Nobody's Fool, 1997

Twin Skeletons
Gordon Fluke: Cherry Ames, Red Cross Nurse, 1994

Twin Vases
Susan Goldman: Explosion, 1998

Twin Lanterns
Gladys Goldstein: Day Lantern, not dated

Twin Artists
Herman Maril: Duet, 1973

Twin Boats
Herman Maril: Sunday at the Docks, 1938

Twin Chairs
Herman Maril: Kitchen, 1976; Vase and Lilies, 1970

Twin Trees
Delilah Pierce: Great Giants, 1974; Giant Nature's Splendor, 1982

And the best thing about my day at this exhibit?
Being able to enjoy it with my sister and her family:
Triplets: Dan, Brit, Peg!

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS FOR MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Thursday, January 28th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT ~ Delilah Williams Pierce
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com


Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com


Follow - Up ~ December 2016
Medellin, Colombia

No comments:

Post a Comment