Ryan Mellody Art: Weightless

Jacqueline Marr, Bubble III

As a child I had a recurring dream of my younger self being able to float around our house. Not flying, but being in a weightless state, hovering up to the ceiling and floating around while my brother and sister were still on the ground. There was a while that I actually thought it was true, that somehow I just grew out of this random ability to defy gravity. I know now that I watched enough TV and thought about it so much that it was always on my mind as I went to bed -- now I dream of ice cream cones and falling off cliffs . . . I wonder what that means . . .

Cali Rezo, Levitation (digital painting)

I think we are all mesmerized and interested in this thing that we will probably never achieve—absolute weightlessness. The crowds watching levitating magicians, inventors vain attempts at personal flight, and maybe even the pasts fascination with angels is proof to that. It is a simple twist of everyday life and it creates countless thoughts and stories every time I see an image depicting it.

Jeremy Geddes, Heat Death

The current fall issue of Poets and Artists highlights artist Jeremy Geddes and his recent work that portrays hyper realistic scenes of cosmonauts floating in barren urban scenes. In a recent interview with Australian Edge, Jeremy commented about this new body of work:

"With these paintings I’m trying to leave the narrative ambiguous and open to interpretation, whilst juxtaposing enough disparate elements to make some sort of interpretation necessary. I’m keen to never give enough clues to block any potential explanation the viewer might bring. I want to spark questions, rather than answer them."

I thought that this concept of an ambiguous narrative was really interesting and something that has been unconsciously drawing me into various contemporary paintings for a while now. Later in the interview, Jeremy mentions that while he is creating his works, he does have certain concepts and emotions that he attempts to convey, but that he tries to leave it open enough for interpretation.

As we have learned throughout the last century, man has a wonderful time figuring out his own interpretation of art, applying his current situation and emotions to the subject and arriving at his own conclusion. It seems that even if the feelings are bad or repulsive, the viewer is much more likely to walk away from the painting feeling positive about it, simply because he solved it for himself.

In the right hands, and with proper technique, this ambiguity could help move the current standard for art toward a more representational foundation. Capturing the eye of those critics and collectors that interpret art with their own ideas, and handing them a better product to write about.