Annie Lapin
2008
Oil on canvas
72 x 96 inches
“That the possibilities for interpretation … are multileveled and open ended is the key aspect of the power and mysterious delight they provide as works of art" (Robertson).
Annie Lapin's artwork is open for interpretation. Lapin prepares by making studies from photographs of contemporary life and current events, but when it comes to the canvas, this artist tends to work directly from the mind.
By using her imagination as a filter for a slew of images from contemporary life, Lapin transforms modern scenes into rich compositions of tribal ritual. Or could it be the other way around? Could Lapin's exposure to modern scenes and photographs give conventional language to otherwise indescribable scenes of instinct and intuition?
It may impossible for any artist to understand how exactly their inner thoughts become externalized in paint, or whatever medium is at hand. What we know about Lapin's work, however, is that is looks really cool. Her images, “Merge Down” in particular, are attractive in the most literal sense; they attract the eye and invite us to drink in their colors, brush work, and lines. There is texture and light in this image that appeals to the viewer at a basic level, and yet it is frustrating to look at such an ambiguous image.
Lapin's paint looks like dirt, like rock, like sky, like flesh. There is little distinction between forms, and there is no hiding the marks in the paint – Lapin doesn't mind if we know the material was smeared in some places or dripped in others. The painting creates a uncomfortable viewing experience, mirroring issues of faith and spiritual belief by providing a window into the unknowable.
It is clear that there is a narrative here, but we are given few clues as to what is happening. The title “Merge Down,” suggests motion and transformation, and directional paint strokes tend to reinforce this theme in the work. We see figures interacting with one another, at the edge of water, on rocks flanked with plants, a lighted sky in the background with a cliff and bright trees. This is an image of human interaction with the world, an event of some kind, but the scene invites skepticism and requires constant reexamining if we hope to decipher its meaning.