Susan Kemner Reed

This new series of oil paintings began while listening to the daily news on the public radio channel in Austin. When my oldest son parachuted into Iraq at the beginning of the Iraqi conflict, I became a "news fanatic." I had to watch the news in every spare moment to possibly hear of his fate. Although I knew this was unrealistic, still I watched and listed to the news obsessively. One day I realized that I could no longer digest this much information without feeling totally overwhelmed, so I became more selective in my daily news consumption. I limited my news coverage to the radio so my brain wouldn't be invaded with difficult news images over and over again. NPR was my favorite choice, so I would listen and paint in my studio.

Previously I had been working with oil on large pieces of paper. Now I wanted a more intimate experience with safe still life objects. However, as I listen to the news and painted, I knew that I had to include elements of current world situations into my small 12 inch by 12 inch domestic paintings. The headlines in the Austin American-Statesman would often appear in the paintings along with a cup of coffee or a delicate heirloom teacup from my grandmother. Other treasured items would find a way into my studio and the paintings along with whatever fruit happened to be in the kitchen at the time. Fortune cookies, coins and magazines began to mingle with lemons, cherries, teapots and silver boot spurs. I would often look back to see that I had combined objects in an interesting and psychological way—lemons with headlines of war asking "How Long?", cherries on top of a photo of bombing in Lebanon, and apple slices next to a photo of children being removed from bombing rubble.

I am fascinated by the idea of Artist as Storyteller and Social Agent. As I sit in my comfortable home, with my beautiful objects, with plenty to eat, being well educated, living in a safe community, surrounded by family and friends—how do I rationalize what is happening in the world around me? Painting is the way that I can ask these questions out loud. Look at these lovely still life paintings and be aware of the tension underneath and question.

web site: susankemnerreed.com/home

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