On Friday, the Academy Art Museum in Easton opened an exhibit titled “Anima Mundi” by artist Rebecca Clark. The exhibit includes 27 pencil drawings of animals and nature, with a focus on bees. The exhibit will be up until May 28, 2012.
Rebecca Clark grew up in Annapolis and received her BA in Art History from Swarthmore College in 1983. She studied painting and drawing at the Maryland Institute of Art+ Design, and landscape design at the George Washington University. Her work has been included in group and solo exhibitions, in publications and in private collections. She has worked for 28 years as a registrar in the Washington DC fine arts community, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Phillips Collection, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, and currently at the US Department of State’s ART in Embassies Program.
1. Anima mundi – the title of your show – seems at first to mean something like “animals in the world”. But it actually means “soul” in Latin – and refers to the interconnection of all living things on the planet, similar to how the soul relates to the human physical body. Can you tell us a little about this concept and why you chose the name for this particular show of work?
I love that the title suggests animals! Yes, “anima mundi” translates to “world soul,” but the word animal derives from the same Latin root, anima, which means “breath, or soul.” The original definition of animal (animale in Latin) was any animal – including humans – that breathes. We’ve come to forget that we, too, are animals. And in forgetting, we detach ourselves from the natural world.
When Erik Neil first approached me about showing at the Academy Art Museum, I knew I wanted to exhibit a body of work that somehow conveyed the interconnectedness of all living things – the wonders of which I witness daily within the confines of my own backyard. I first became aware of the concept of anima mundi through Godfrey Reggio’s powerful 1992 film of the same name. The completeness of that phrase resonated with me.
2. Your style is very interesting – kind of Japanese, very minimalistic, but with incredible attention to detail. You focus on your subjects so clearly, and they appear on a white background – almost floating in air. How did this style evolve – have you always focused only on your subject matter, and let the background disappear? By removing the background do you change the context of the subjects?
What you’ve described must be a hybrid of two distinct personal influences: the highly detailed realism of Northern Renaissance painting (Van Eyck, Durer, Hoefnagel); and the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic which honors beauty in imperfection, impermanence, the small, and the humble. The sharp focus on my subjects, whether an insect, a bird, or a leaf, is a conscious attempt to portray them as individuals. I want people to connect with these animated beings, on a deep level, a heart level. I’ve learned that by simply sitting in nature – quietly observing, listening, and feeling the vibrations around me – my heart rate slows, the useless chatter in my head fades away, and I begin to enter an ancient but familiar world from which we all came. I know this sounds very abstract and out-there, but by ‘becoming one’ with the bees and the blades of grass, I develop a deeper level of compassion. This connection, this compassion, informs my drawing.
To answer your question about the white background of my drawings: I’ve come to appreciate the negative space as much as the positive space. My hope is that the blankness will provide the viewer with a sense of space — or breath — so as to fully appreciate the subjects in a calm and peaceful way.
3. Why bees?
Because the bees really need our help right now. And we really need the bees. Seventy percent of all plants on the planet depend on bees for pollination, and what we utilize from these plants is crucial for our own existence. As we know, honeybees are disappearing at alarming rates – a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. I hope that by reminding people about bees, by including them in my art, I help raise awareness about CCD. I also draw them because they are incredibly beautiful, intelligent, and mysterious creatures.
4. I love the pieces that show movement – the bird, for example – flying off the page, you only show part of the wing extending off the side of the paper. And the bees that are flying around the page – it seems that you’re offering the perspective of one of the group – as if a bee is looking out at the scene. Can you talk about that?
Yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head! In the process of entering my drawings, one is engaging with the birds in the air, or the root buried within the earth. I draw from the perspective of the subject. By cropping the wing off the side of the paper, and employing a sort of snapshot sensibility, it helps bring me into their reality. Otherwise, it’s just another pretty nature drawing from the detached human perspective.
5. Why graphite?
There’s something very basic about a graphite pencil that holds a visceral pleasure for me. It’s a simple tool, it’s easy to carry, and the process of drawing does not require much preparation. But most importantly, only with pencil can I achieve the level of detail that I desire.
6. Can you talk about the wisps of color? Only one or two pieces seem to have strong elements of color in them. What does color do or not do, to your pieces, and how/why do you choose that?
I’ve been trying lately to incorporate more color into my work, albeit with subtlety and discretion. I understand the power color holds, and the inherent implications of life and joy that it brings. I’ve avoided it in the past, though, because of my dedication to pencil drawing, because color tends to dominate and can upset a delicate balance, and because I haven’t found a way to technically use colored pigments with the same degree of detail as that of a needle-sharp 5H pencil. But I’m experimenting more and more, as you can see in some of the drawings in the Anima Mundi show. It was my plan to use color only in strategic areas where a dynamic life force might be present. That is obvious in some of the drawings, such as “All Will Be One” and “Emerge,” but I’m afraid the temptation of color has lured me into other areas, as well…!
7. Some of the pieces have an other-worldly sense about them. The dandelions, for instance – change from a very scientific, representational look, to a mystical look, or Celtic. What are you saying there? Is it about the relationship between the elements of nature?
The dandelion was a breakthrough for me. While drawing one late last summer, I became entranced by its beautifully complex patterns and suddenly realized I was staring at nature’s version of a mandala, a sacred geometric circle representing the cosmos – a microcosm of the universe. All patterns in nature are, of course, amazing and it was at that point I realized I wanted to take my art to a more symbolic level to better convey that sense of universal interconnectedness. One of my art heroes, Charles Burchfield, so beautifully expressed the mystical in nature, and his painting, “Dandelion Seed Heads and the Moon,” from 1961-65 was a huge inspiration for me. I believe nature can serve as a vehicle for transformation to the spiritual and I hope my art will continue to evolve towards that expression.
8. How does the cat fit in with the rest of the pieces? It seems so domestic in comparison to the others.
Homer is our cat. He was a stray who adopted us when we moved into our bungalow. The backyard was his home long before we arrived, and he enjoys hanging out with me there, as well as in my studio while I draw. I’ve learned so much about animal nature from Homer that I felt he deserved to be included in the show.
9. The show seems very accessible – you don’t have to be an art historian to appreciate this work. It seems that even young children would enjoy seeing this show. Have you had responses from a wide audience about this work?
Because my inspiration is drawn directly from the same world we all share, I hope it resonates with all. I do think children enjoy my drawings. They are so much closer to nature than adults, and I think they identify with animals on that heart level of which we spoke earlier. I had a bee show at a community center art gallery last April and the curator left a notebook for guests to leave comments. Most of the comments were from children and their honesty was so refreshing! A nursery school class wrote: “It was neat the way they were drawn like their wings were fluttering. It was neat. We really liked the baby bumblebees.” And a child just learning to write, who signed in as “me,” and dated her comment “now,” simply drew a girl (presumably her) with a big smile and a hand that morphs into a giant heart.
I really like the vibrant community spirit of the Academy Art Museum – its active art and dance studios; its vigorous exhibition schedule promoting the work of local artists as well as that of internationally acclaimed heavyweights; and its K-12 educational programs that allow children the rare opportunity to interact directly with the artwork in the galleries. I’m excited to see how the local kids respond to my drawings.
10. Your diamondback terrapin piece seems to be narrative. What story are you telling here?
There is no conscious narrative, per se, on my part, other than portraying a moment in the life of a terrapin and a fly. It’s early fall, so the summer grasses are still around, but the falling leaf signifies the coming of fall and pending death. To me this drawing symbolizes the cycles of life.
11. You have focused on recording the details of a micro world and it feels very scientific. Do you have a background or influences in the world of science?
Whatever scientific exactitude I’ve mustered in my work is a result of highly developed observational skills and total awe for my subject matter. I am not scientific in the least bit, but I appreciate the creativity of scientists who are uncovering the mysteries of our universe. I recently saw a fantastic illustration that showed two intersecting circles, one labeled ART, the other labeled SCIENCE. The middle section they both shared was labeled WONDER!
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Joanne Mahoney says
An awesome article, about an awesome artist!!
Rebecca Clark says
Thank you, Joanne!
Barbara Vittoria says
Such beautiful work! Each piece is so delicate and yet filled with such great detail.
The artist has not only a great eye, but a great soul.
Well done!
Rebecca Clark says
Thank you, Barbara!
George Ireland says
Really like the artists style…has a very calming effect when viewing.