Janet Cooling: Still Life Meditations

Janet Cooling, a prolific painter, describes these mixed-media works on paper done from October 2009 through March 2010, as grounding meditations that represent infinity. It was fun to document both these paintings and the dialogue with her about them.  The still life paintings are interesting in and off themselves, however I find them of even greater interest given that as a young art student Cooling found still life painting boring.  These works mark her first exploration of still life as a mature artist.  Viewed in the wider context of her body of work, this video is illustrative of the pleasure an artist can feel exploring new ways of working.

My essay on the painter Janet Cooling can be read online at http://www.glbtq.com/arts/cooling_j.html. The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts, from the editors of glbtq.com, showcases the enormous contribution of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer artists. It includes my essay on Janet Cooling and is available at Amazon Books.

This video is part of my ongoing documentation of Cooling's work, which continues to evolve in new directions far beyond my essay written in 2002.