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Dancing Girlscopyright ©1999 Patrick Holloran All Rights Reserved 30" x 40" Acrylic on Canvas thumbnails | next |
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Allow me to share some random thoughts I caught trespassing in my mind at the time of splattering paint on this piece of stretched cotton duck. I share these thoughts not in order to bestow any great insight upon the meaning of this painting but simply to share some random thoughts I caught trespassing in my mind at the time of splattering paint on this piece of stretched cotton duck. But then we covered that already.
Life, by it's very nature, continually forces us to do things we might rather not do if we really had the choice. One of those little quirks is devising ways to attain money so that we can provide the basics for ourselves. There are those who would define the basics simply as food, clean water, shelter, maybe a working t.v., a motorized vehicle of some sort that only needs repairing when we're in the mood to fix it, or optionally, a little pocket change to pay for public transportation and forget a car. There are others who consider their basic needs as driving a Porsche, owning a four-car garage to park this and their three other Porsches (or is it Porschi?), holding a $30,000 country club membership, living in a house large enough to accommodate twenty families comfortably, and maybe swimming or lazying around their very own customized in-ground pool that's large enough to bathe twenty families comfortably - all at the same time (hmmmm....a future painting, perhaps?). Of course, then, there are all those with basic needs that would fall somewhere in between. To attain any of these levels of living one must jump through a varied assortment of hoops. In other words, doing things we might rather not do if we really had the choice. Some navigate the hoops with ease while others slap their foreheads against the top while stubbing their shins against the bottom. And yet, some tangle in their own feet and crash to the ground before they even make it to the hoops. Some enjoy the hoops while others do not. This painting deals with those who do not. Devising ways to attain money can cover a wide spectrum of possibilities both legal and illegal. The list is endless. The most common way, and perhaps the way of least resistance for most, is working a job. We exchange our labor for some cash, minus the government's share, of course. (We're discussing the legal ways here.) It's the labor part of the equation that qualifies this as being a hoop. I'm quite certain a lot of folks would gladly show up at a place of business, receive a paycheck and turn around to go home, or elsewhere, without having to do anything for it. There just seems to be something about that "work" part. Maybe it's not the work itself. Maybe it's the work environment. Maybe it's the work conditions. Or maybe it IS the work itself. Look around. People lined up for two to three hours waiting to buy a one-in-76-million chance at winning over $300,000,000. Sure, some play just for the excitement of winning but you can probably figure most would quit their jobs if they suddenly came into millions. Surveys have shown the majority of people are dissatisfied with their jobs. You still here? Good, stick around. I think this is where things actually begin to tie in with the painting. The two dancers on stage represent people who have a natural aversion for those hoops I was mentioning earlier. And I'd say they are expressing their feelings quite succinctly!! 
The circular edge of the stage represents "the hoop." 
Not only are they NOT jumping through the hoop but as you can see they have boarded up the middle of the hoop and are dancing upon it. This would appear to be some form of defiance. Their naked bodies symbolizing they are not ashamed to take a stand (merely showing, perhaps, that anyone cancan.........sorry). Their peculiar heads and bizarre body coloring attest to their nonconformist attitudes. They are not afraid of who they are and what they want. But what is this, really? Mockery? The beginnings of an uprising? And what do they want? Are they leading a revolt against hoop-jumping? Or just a couple of rowdy gals looking to stir up some shit. Are they advocating that all hoop-jumping stops here? And then what? The horizontal figure along the bottom represents the conformist. 
She has already jumped through this hoop (fortunately for her, before the rowdies arrived) and is preparing to jump through the next with her left hand reaching out and up to catch any of the benefits of hoop-jumping that may fall her way. She has assumed the position. Perhaps permanently. The fish are the casual observers of this whole ordeal, quietly floating on the sidelines. 
They are not required to jump through hoops. They are fish. They swim. Perhaps they are of independent means. Perhaps they control the hoops. Regardless, they have yet to see anyone refuse to jump through the hoops. And boarding the hoop up is nearly beyond their comprehension!!! This is all new to them. They are slowly swimming in circles patiently awaiting the outcome of this dilemma. The tension is mounting. So now, thanks to this rebellious couple of hellions, we are confronted with some new ideas, shocking as they might initially appear. Can we refuse to leap through hoops and still find security? Still find happiness? Would we, in fact, be happier without leaping through hoops? Or perhaps, not so many hoops? But maybe most important, can we even exist with the eradication of all hoops? And if so, exist on which level? Everyone has their own degree of tolerance for discomfort in exchange for freedom. Hoops come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Some hoops are real and some imagined. Nevertheless, they are all hoops and they must be dealt with. The question is: to jump or not to jump? 
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