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There's
a line from an old
Bob Dylan song that goes,
"You know something's
happening, but you don't
know what it is, do you,
Mr. Jones?"
The same question could
be asked upon viewing
Amy Bennett's darkly enigmatic
scenes of day-to-day life
in a seemingly ordinary
town that exist only in
the mind of this gifted
artist - scenes that are
sometimes playful, but
more often hint at tragedy,
isolation, perversity
or danger.
The image presented above,
"Into the Woods"
is a perfect example of
the artist's skill at
weaving a mystery into
a beautiful landscape.
Ms Bennett offered Dark
Romance this commentary
regarding the piece:
"'Into the Woods'
is one of my favorites.
The scene is viewed as
if from a passing boat,
only just slightly higher,
perhaps from a passing
bird, privileging us to
witness a scene we are
not supposed to see.
The light is of the fleeting
variety, imparting the
sense that in a blink,
like the raking shadows,
the figures will have
disappeared into the woods
and all that will remain
is the innocence of a
rowboat. A man drags a
limp woman ashore. It
is unclear if there has
been a tragedy on the
lake, with help and civilization
far out of reach, or if
something more sinister
is at play."
Ms Bennett begins her
creative process by physically
building the homes and
streets of her imaginary
town as actual architectural
models, into which she
envisions a population
of specific inhabitants.
Then she paints scenes
that have the effect of
snapshots as taken from
a voyeuristic POV, perhaps
that of a curious neighbor,
or a stranger in town,
and often even a bird's
eye, or a god's eye perspective.
It's quite likely that
the scenes created by
Amy Bennett could serve
as a Rorschach test to
determine the predisposition
of her viewers - a dividing
line separating the morbid
and perverse from the
naive and optimistic.
We invite you look into
these scenes from Amy
Bennett's imagined world
and picture for yourself
what is happening - or
is about to happen - and
discover which side of
the dividing line your
soul inhabits.
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