As a child, I was taught to believe that my behavior would determine my destiny after death in either a heaven or a hell. The formation of these realities in my childhood imagination were based on the creations of European and Middle Eastern artists who lived in earlier periods of history. Behavior which adhered to standards that promoted cultural stability would allow me the reward of an afterlife in heaven. Upon my death, I would travel to a place in the clouds I imagined to look very much like the beautiful mountains of Appalachia. It was the home of a white-haired, unshaven patriarch, an anthromorphic identity originally derived from the image of Abraham. Although adopted from European history, this heaven reflected American pioneer concerns which emphasised being rejoined with family members. If I failed to appropriately follow codes of social behavior, I would find myself in a far less pleasant reality.
Heaven, O/C, 3' x 3.5', 1993 The depictions in Heaven, Sheep and Hell are somewhat humorous in their presentation. In the clouds, the man with a long white beard is reaching down out of the heavens. In this scene are representations of my grandparents and great-aunts who maintained livelihoods on ancestral land during my childhood.
Sheep move in the direction of heaven, but one has paused to look behind at the other reality.
The depiction of Hell has been adopted from a portion of Fra Angelico's Last Judgement. The Hell I envisioned had been constructed from a foundation of Classical Greek mythology and anthromorphized animal figures from the Middle East.
Death Approaching, O/C, 3' x 4', 1993
The participation in death rituals reinforced a sense of responsibility to future generations. These somber occasions encouraged participants to consider meaning and values with the passing of each clan member. What came to mind when confronted with the reality of death was a curiosity about how I and others of my generation would be viewed by future descendants. It is the awareness of my own mortality that I represent in the paintings entitled Death Approaching. Pallbearers carry a casket, in the direction of The Child.
Appalachian Farewell O/C 3'x4' 1992
The ritual viewing of the body promotes social cohesion by uniting family at a time of crisis. The presence of clan members, particularly children, gives assurance of the continuation of the clan as a social group.
Judgement Day: Sheep moving toward a Horizon, O/C, 3' x 4, 1993
Originally shown in a position below Annihalation, Judgement Day: Sheep moving toward a Horizon is a pastoral scene which becomea a metaphor for Christian symbolism.
Judgement Day: Annihilation, O/C, 5' x 3', 1993
This painting was developed from a newspaper clipping of the Branch Davidean compound engulfed in flames in Waco, Texas. The media image has been combined with Francisco Traini's depiction of a horseman of the Apocolypse. The expression of tradgedy in fourteenth century visual imagery remains in human conciousness six centuries later. For some, it symbolizes the anticipation of a future mass destruction.
Color slide scanning by Susan Jurist, UCSD Art Library. Address all comments and inquiries to mwaggoner@ucsd.edu. All original works are copywritten by Belinda Di Leo and cannot be reproduced electronically, or by any other means without permission of the artist.
