Artist Statement

Jovana Bargh

July, 1998

 

Beyond the metaphor is the essence of its being—the shadow side of life.
—Jovana Bargh

 

If great art is based on the concept that ideas present themselves in the shadow part of our nature, then I believe that within the shadow lies hidden the metaphor. Metaphor is the essence of my work.


 

I use metaphor to camouflage literal meaning and amplify poetic allusion. Personal symbolism such as, fish, birds, washboards, strings, obelisks and chairs are used to imply narration. The symbols can change pitch from emotions to spirituality to illusion and to reality.


 

Sometimes while working I play a game with myself and try to think like the subject/object is thinking. Like metaphor, thinking like the object frees me to approach the image from the objects point of view. During this legerdemain process the image becomes timeless, unveiling a magical atmosphere where peculiar elements merge with time and space.

 

Surrounding the flat, central image of each flower is a background of impasto, creating an almost translucent stucco effect, that simultaneously to contrast and echo the predominant color.
— Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post.

 

Washington artist, JO BARGH'S searching, expressionistic process is concerned with the connections between man's earthly and spiritual lives. These connections are represented in the paintings by strings, such as, clotheslines, fishing lines, telephone wires, puppet strings, umbilical cords, even strands of spaghetti. The strings are metaphors for the nourishing process, symbolizing the universal longing for the food of a spiritual home. The image of the homeless person who inspired many of these works is contrasted with symbols of Bargh's childhood home, a wing chair, her grandmother's washboard and the clothes hanging on the line. Three dimensional bamboo theater-like sets recreate the discrepancy between the home and the homeless.
 
Birth and death are implicit in these strong and personal works which express a universal desire for communication, deeply felt.
—Anne Banks, Galley 10