The Marriage of Ebenezer and Florence

Lori Chilefone

vintage ephemera, gouache, handmade papers and cold wax on basswood

“This theatrical collage was created for a 2019 group art exhibition Ebb & Flow – Water  coordinated by artist Allan Servoss and director of Heyde Center For the Arts, Deb Johnson. It was fun to ponder this union of opposites, ebbing and flowing; a pair of unique actions working in tandem resulting in reciprocity of sorts, or a continuum.  To illustrate the opposing union of these forces, bound by nature, I personified ‘ebb’ and ‘flow’ (Ebenzer & Florence) and immersed them in symbolic riddles in hopes to quietly identify their individual aims. My character for ‘Eb’ was built around an etching (c.1870) created by Paul Rajon of Felix Bracqemond’s self portrait. Bracqemond (b.1833-1914) was a French artist and etcher who played a key role in the revival of printmaking and encouraged artists like Manet and Degas to use this technique to reproduce their paintings. Historical records report Bracqemond’s wife, Marie, was a talented artist as well, however Felix disapproved of her interest in pursuing a career as an impressionist painter so she gave up painting altogether. With this little detail about their relationship, Felix made a suitable stand in for my Eb, as an opposing mate to Flo. Flo was inspired from an anonymous portrait found on Instagram (Thank you, stranger!) and the old magazine cover and etching of Felix was harvested from the stacks at The Antique Emporium (Thank you, Marcella & Hugh!).”

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Price: $800
Size: 12″ x 24″
Contact melanyb@eauclaire.lib.wi.us for details.