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SIREN OF THE SOUL. 2005.
Giclee print/canvas. 24" x 16"
From the Wine Dark Sea, They Came, Her Mantle Falling Over Them. 2004.
Giclee print/canvas. 48" x 36".
SIREN OF THE SELF. 2005.
Giclee print/canvas. 29" x 22".
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Artist Statement
I am fascinated with shells, flowers, textiles, the visually pleasing tactile objects of nature. Both of the series were created to play with these objects, play with camera-less photography with a scanner and to delve in some manner into my own deep seated romantic philosophy of life. The shell series calls up Homer and the flowers to the innate symbolism we ascribe to them.
Tulips, for example, mean different things to different cultures. The red, lily-flowered tulips are favored in Western Asia where the species is indigenous. To the Moslems, the red flower sprang from the blood of the martyred prophets son and symbolized the soul’s yearning for god. Picture please a whole plain or hillside ablaze with red and think of the passion. We, here in the West, prefer a more egg-shaped flower. Some say this is reminiscent of the egg of mother earth. Some think the tulip fairy so sentimentalized by the Victorians was an atavistic remembrance of older, pagan times. But, we with our superabundance of cultivars of so many species simply see plants and little beyond. Even though we cultivate the Madonna Lily for Easter sales, we don’t always go beyond, know more or want to.
I’ve always loved stories and especially myths and legends. The narratives of flowers has also led me to begin writing a book on mystery roses and how they relate the narrative of California. When you look at flowers, look beyond the bloom and you will see the history of us all.
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Bio: Mary K. Shisler is an artist living and working in the Bay Area. Her career has included costume design in theatre and dance, film as well as photography and painting. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with an M. F.A. in costume design and promptly began to photograph. Go figure.
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