Weekly Mourner

Weekly Mourner 6 Part 3 of “How to Look at Art; Basquiat” By screm YOU. ARE. PERISHABLE. “Gravestone”, 1987, Acrylic, crayon, on headboard, door and cabinet door.  140 x 172.4cm. Private Collection. ” What sunsets hold, Who can know? What cold plans under fate’s wings grow?  For even when good fortune shines, Death still turns the hands of time. So think your thoughts of self-control, Tell yourself where you will go, Say that you’ll do this or that, While basking in this evening’s glow, Enjoy the radiant streaks of gold, Look around as if you’ll always be, But behind you is the shadow deep; And it comes for all, It comes for you, And it comes for me.” -T.D. “A Sunset Is A Harbinger” by Thomas Damascus “Gravestone” was completed shortly after the death of Basquiat’s close friend, collaborator, and confidant, of several years, Andy Warhol. You know Andy; The famous pop art icon who coined the phrase: “Fifteen Minutes of Fame.” Warhol is probably best known for his repetitious pr...

Weekly Mourner 4 By screm, July 2020 How To Look At Art, Volume 2 “Untitled”, acrylic on panel, 48 x 48”, 2018 NASA photos of the scarred surface of a strange and distant planet. A primordial broth simmering in the cracks of an earth from a long dead age. A captivating glimpse at the slide of unknown microscope. Wounds accumulated on some mysterious and unknown body. Tapestries documenting visceral damage and layers of time oriented healing rather than lineage. The haunting contemporary ghost of a body of impressionist paintings. (Alright, so I low key sci-fi geek out over Victoria’s work... so what?!) How about... Peace amidst deep and real distress. A spiritual and psychological metaphor for healing from trauma? These paintings absolutely speak to me on a metaphysical level, a spiritual level. These are a few of the things I see and think of when I look at the artwork of Victoria Rose Phillips. And I have to say that I am a fan.  Victoria and I met at the Savannah College of...