SYSTEMS FAILURE Collection
SYSTEMS FAILURE, Artistic Reflections by Dorothea Sandra
There’s a health and healing story to this unique collection of 15 paintings created in 2020, and I want to share it with you.
My journey began in early 2020 with the realization that many of our SYSTEMS had failed us. Like other hyper-creative people, I began absorbing too much of the stress and static and noise going on in the world. In my head I kept hearing voices of people shouting for us to return to the past. They wanted our world to go back to the 1950s and before. That world was great for some people but horrible for others. I also heard other people, this time more angry and aggressive and screaming: “We need to fix our systems the same way we did in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s!” Sadly, I experienced firsthand how their system fixes failed us.
System Failure is the first painting in this art collection. It is an artistic reflection of my revelation that many of our Systems are not working properly. It shouts from the canvas: SOMETHING IS WRONG!
System Failure by Dorothea Sandra (20”x16” acrylic on canvas)
As I painted The First Door, I wondered if we couldn’t come up with ENTIRELY NEW AND MODERN ways to fix our broken systems. Why should we trust the 1950s and before people (out of touch with today’s realities) and the 1960s-90s people (also out of touch with today’s realities) with the job of fixing 2020s broken systems?
The First Door by Dorothea Sandra (20”x16” acrylic on canvas)
I thought I might find answers through my third painting, The Side Door, but the voices inside my head only got louder. ‘ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?’ they screamed at me. ‘Artists absorb the world and speak with their art. We’re getting slammed with a pandemic, the riots, too many politicians lying, news networks stirring up the masses, and people on both ends of the conservative and liberal spectrum raging and spewing and acting as if nothing mattered but them, them, them! You will never keep all this negativity in (and as clean and orderly and interesting as The Side Door is) your inner battle for answers to Systems Failure has just begun.’
The Side Door by Dorothea Sandra (16”x20” acrylic on canvas)
Next, I created The Red Door. Ancient Roman and Greek arches symbolized an entrance into something important. Biblical times brought the words, "Knock and the door will be opened to you." Today we talk about opening new doors for positive outcomes. In some countries red symbolizes good luck, good fortune, and happiness. As a doorway or arch, red has also been used as a symbol for leaving behind the everyday and mundane and entering into the world of sacredness.
Reflecting on this painting, I think my inner artist thought walking in the world where artists tap into their inner spirits might help. When the painting was finished, lots of people liked The Red Door. I wasn’t surprised. The colors were smooth and pleasing, and there was a red arch (although sideways) reminiscent of my years in beautiful Japan. It was a comfortable piece with many swoops of the palette knife, but it still did not help me with my revelation that many of our SYSTEMS were failing us.
The Red Door by Dorothea Sandra (16”x20” acrylic on canvas)
…to be continued in my next blog, 2020 Systems Failure Art Collection For Sale (Part 2)