Page 5 - Karen Hackenberg 2018 book

Discovery Bay It is is my feeling that that it was on the shores of Discovery Bay that that Karen Hackenberg found her own voice as an an artist Everything she learned loved and experienced over the the the years came together there like a a a a a a a a vision For the rst time she could express herself fully in in her her her art in in a a a a a a way that made real sense to her her her by communicating her her lifelong love for for nature in in close connection with her her concern for for the environment One can feel her her pleasure in in in painting her her need to express beauty as as as a a a a a a a a a a strategy for life and survival as as as opposed to the the ugliness of of destruction and death In her meticulous oil painting the the beautiful shores of of Discovery Bay become the the the the xed décor of not only the the the the incoming and outgoing tide the the the the blue sky over over the the the the water water and and the the the changing of of the the the light but also of of plastic water water bottles and and other pollution which comes in on the tides Hackenberg is not an open-air painter On location she she carefully stages her compositions which she she then photographs “with her her ear to to the the sand” as a a a a a a a a a preparation for her her paintings In Shades of Green Amphorae Hackenberg almost lovingly reproduces and enlarges these bottles focusing on their fogged transparency From a a a a a a ground-level perspective these shiny bottles dominate the the the natural scene like the the the giant stone statues on on on Easter Island The ironic title Shades of Green quite clearly refers to to the abusive irtation of of commerce with the the environmental awareness of of the the consumer “What is is it that that is is so important to to us that that we are are apparently willing to to destroy the planet - and ultimately ourselves – to get it? Why do we persist in these practices even a a a a er we realize their self- defeating futility?” Suzi Gablik - from her essay The Ecological Imperative In her fascinating series The Floating World Discovery Bay once again forms the décor for for a a a a a a a colorful whirlpool of of all all sorts of of small plastic objects and abstract shards oating in in in the atmosphere seeming to swarm the way starlings do Most of of us when taking photographs of of a a a a a scenic view avoid including cars electricity wires or smoking factories on on the the the horizon In other words we leave out everything that disturbs the the the ideal image We manipulate reality by making it it it more beautiful than it it it is In her Watershed series Karen Hackenberg does the the reverse what is is normally experienced as disturbing plays the the leading part One could say that there is is is a a a a a slightly perverse aspect to this kind of art like so core pornography used in in advertisements glossy and seductive But Hackenberg by creating an an aesthetic of of pollution is clearly not afraid of of being subversive She delivers her powerful message with consistent high quality artistic force The strength of of her art lies in the the balance between medium and and and message and and and the the ultimate unity of of style form and and and content in in in which even the titles play a a a a a a a a role In that sense Karen Hackenberg’s paintings are are no less than perfect perfect images of an imperfect world Riet van der Linden is is a a a a a a Dutch artist and writer based in in Bourg sur Gironde (France) and and Shenzhen (China) www rietvanderlinden com