These collage works connect my interests in varied cultures, history and landscape. The work refers very directly to the time that I spent in Croatia in 2013. The rich history of the Croatian landscape and the many cultures that have shaped the nation and larger area of the Balkans are the impetus for this work. As nations change, they absorb multiple influences, and this in turn shapes the meaning of the images. A Roman column or vase becomes a residue of both curiosity and imperial power. Croatia sits near the conjunction of east and west, and even the nature of east and west has changed over time. Are the Balkans Eastern Europe or Western Europe? Does the residue of the Roman empire connote the breadth of the West or a split with the East.
The fracturing of imagery denotes the breaking apart not only of traditional forms of art making, but also the rupture of the images/objects from their context. To recreate the site, location or culture is futile and can only be called speculative. To live in the present is to be constantly reminded of the past, but from whose perspective? Provided with an historical site, our interpretation of that site, like a map, is subjective. We are in the presence of omission and the ruin of certainty.
Karen Lebergott
2014
http://www.karenlebergott.com/#
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