Unnatural Disaster

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Katherine Preucil – Unnatural Disaster: 1, 2, 3

I chose painting as my medium because it allows a process of discovery. The application of the paint is a means of expressing ideas and releasing energy whether that be wild, calm, or anywhere in between. While I did not start painting with ideas on the dichotomy between Man and Nature forefront in my mind, through my experimentations of applying paint with a palette knife I was reminded of a falling bird. I used the imagery of dead and dying birds to explore Man’s effect on the Natural World. Destruction of nature has occurred as the result of human intervention, most notably due to technological and industrial progress. We can see imbalances occurring in the natural world, but struggle to create a balance between the preservation of nature and the desire for innovation. Although the forms in my paintings reference nature in their subject matter, the abstract quality of the bird forms, along with the unnatural silvery background and bright unrealistic colors, refers to Man’s hand in the destruction of nature. The contrast of bright colors with the morose content of the imagery exhibits our contrasting desires to preserve nature while still living the comfortable life to which society is accustomed.