Martha Goldman's An American Fairytale
Mythical Beasts of the Coming Apocalypse Specimen 1
"Martha Goldman's An American Fairytale"
featuring the artwork of Martha Goldman
Martha Goldman’s latest body of work ‘An American Fairytale’ is a wry nostalgic look at our past as applied to our world’s current circumstances. It is a wink to pop cultural epochs, and a nod to difficult issues that plague us now as well as then.
Martha pulls from many veins of artistic theory. Her time in and study of Japan has had a strong influence upon her work. Manga (Japanese comic book) styling with its cute and quirky humanization of animals and inanimate objects are prevalent. Other influences would be eighteenth century rococo with its flourishes and royal airs, and mid-century American pop art.
Pin-up girls play various roles in Martha's paintings. Their sweet smiles and vacant doe eyed stares represent our own tendencies to ignore yet persevere through difficult situations. The cute/pretty appearance of the paintings is akin to a sugar coated pill. It creates a chirosciro of dark subject matter presented in a light and gay style. In the end Martha’s intentions are to make us take stock of our mistakes, have a laugh at ourselves, and inspire us to make the best of the future.
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