Hunter Clarke Comes Full Circle
April 1, 2008
American artist Hunter Clarke recently participated in the exhibition “Full Circle: A Tribute to the Cultural Diversity of Women’s Art” at the Pen and Brush Gallery in New York City, where she won first prize for her painting “Parental Instinct 3” (Watercolor on paper, 12″x16”, 2006). The painting is part of Clarke’s “Bestiarius” series wherein she depicts the primal nature of pregnancy with female images in half animal, half human forms. Lynn Alexander interviewed Clarke as a follow up to our coverage of the Full Circle show during the International Women’s Day Virtual Festival.
The Women of “Bestiarius”
One thing that draws me to Clarke’s pieces is the working contradictions between the way she executes her ideas and the ideas themselves: she challenges our perceptions of the feminine as she couples soft hues and curves with strong elements directly from nature. It is not the soft aspect of nature she extracts- but rather the cruel, predatory side- where mothers must act in the interests of survival. She contemplates maternal instincts against the backdrop of society’s “baby pastels” then interjects this fierce quality she maintains as another integral aspect of the feminine experience.
They are, essentially, both natural to us and strange to us- perhaps not unlike the experience of pregnancy itself for many women.
There is also an element of humor in the juxtapositions in “Bestiarius”, and while people might be initially comfortable with the watercolor style they are perhaps not accustomed to this particular application of the hybrid-human idea. She acknowledges that this idea has a long history in various mythologies and her interest in cultural depictions has had an influence. Her interest in nature and symbolism are apparent as well: when asked about the circular spiral motif present not only in “Bestiarius” but her abstract and other collections, Clarke elaborated on her tendency to incorporate symbolism:
“It comes in part from my interest in carvings and the art that I saw in Europe, such as when visiting Portugal. I am interested in the ways people are portrayed in different cultures.
“The spiral is also reminiscent, once again, of a theme in nature. This theme of interconnection and the cyclical nature of the environment form another layer to Clarke’s art:
“I also really like the metaphor of the spiral, the whirlpool, the way it is part of a river but yet an entity of its own. When conditions are right, it forms. When conditions are not, it simply returns to the river. It was of the river, part of the river, all along.”
Clarke is comfortable with her ties to traditional aesthetics. And, like many symbolic representations, her work conveys universal themes while at the same time, are connected to her personal experiences. Her fascination with flight, for example, changed when she became pregnant and her attention seemed to take a natural turn toward more “grounded” subject matter as represented by the egg.
Her own experiences during pregnancy influenced the themes of “Bestiarius”, connected to changing responses and feelings that began to surface, and an awareness of more “Instinctive, primal” feelings as a pregnant woman: her sense of protection, of the relationships between nurturing and predator behavior, the strangeness of having a life growing inside. All of these feelings made their way into the series, as did that desire to continue representing women with a presence of strength.
“Bestiarius” aims to show a more inclusive spectrum of the female experience, and our presence in the context of the natural world and participation in it. They are about Clarke’s experiences, but they are also about universal experiences, her works a space for the expression of a timeless dualism – and part of an expanding circle of creativity.
A graduate of the University of Delaware and Massachusetts College of Art, Hunter Clarke resides in Delaware and exhibits and sells her paintings worldwide. Visit her web site and gallery at www.hunterartist.com.
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