Abstracts 2015 Artist Caren Helene Rudman | Previving 238 | Mixed Media

I have been interested in genetics, linking past and future generations. 15 years ago, I learned that I carry the BRCA 1 gene, which increases my chances to develop breast and/or ovarian cancer. I describe it as being almost sick, entering onto a bridge between health and disease. Consequently, my work began to reflect not only the connection to family, but how facing my own mortality changed how I live my life.

Previving 238, is part of “The Previving Series”, a project consisting of 365 canvas sheets. Each 24 x 18 mixed media sheet begins with a photo transfer of my body after undergoing a prophylactic mastectomy. I layer fiber papers, chalk pastels, paint and fabric to imitate how clothes and bras cover the scars to make us feel “normal”, and “like ourselves again”. Each piece on its own can be seen as a separate response, like a daily journal, documenting the time and mood throughout the year of surgeries and infections. In Previving 238, the small photograph only reveals the neck, surrounded by a sea of blue in an ethereal sense of calm, revealing both the fragility and strength of the body as it heals. The entire installation, clipped to the wall like an x-ray, symbolizes both the literal and metaphoric experiences around disease.

Previving is an offshoot of an ongoing project called Redefining Beauty, where women across the world share images of their bodies after surgeries or biopsies. Again, the similar technique of working on unstretched canvas, using photography, paint and paper layered to give the original image new meaning. Women-s cancers are uniquely linked to external archetypes of femininity. When those body parts are altered, our identity is affected. By using the extreme example of breast cancer as a metaphor, I question society’s idealized expectations of perfection. Women’s bodies continue to be a hot topic in politics and when a celebrity chooses to have a mastectomy, it is broadcast news. However, famous people undergo surgery everyday. Why when it affects the female body does it demand debate? I hope to illustrate the importance of accepting all of our body-s imperfections and vulnerabilities, because when confronting mortality, we find meaning in life.

Art Galleries Pasadena

If you are interested in art collecting and would like to purchase this beautiful art, give our art galleries a call. Our art gallery is a wonderful place for art collectors.

Our owner and curator is Linnea Lenkus, who has two Los Angeles portrait studios and has a passion for high quality art. Her goal is to promote the best artists in every art galleries in Pasadena.