Tell My Father I Wish to Be His Son

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voodoo collage completed 11-16-09

I stayed up late last night working on this collage, pulling images and text from National Geographic, Veranda, Arts & Antiques magazines. I had images spread out all over the bed and Harley, the new puppy begged to be let up. I relented and he did what puppies do. I watched three Ovation programs on, art of the Moors, Goya, and the French Revolutionary painter, David, who has always and inexplicably annoyed me.

Although I've had time to play around with the images in Adobe Photoshop, I haven't had time to reflect on the collage and its voodoo message. The demons in the right-hand corner demanded to be included. They're really not demons at all. They're mythological creatures of the trickster archetype sort called Krampus. Basically, wild men who were the anti-St. Nicholaus, that punished naughty children. Scrooge probably was borne out of the forgotten Krampus, who are currently enjoying a come-back in Austria. Hum bug, indeed.

It's appropriate that the dog is barking the declaration to the Krampus and that the kingisher birds seem to be as well. Of course there's a goat in the background, watching and waiting. The floating woman appears to be a winged water spirit or an untethered water lily about to lift out of the composition.

The title of the collage is taken from the scene in The Godfather when Michael finally accepts his fate as the heir apparent to the Corleone empire. Up until the brutal death of his elder brother, he had been able to distance himself from the family mafia business and pursue his own bent. I understand wanting to follow your own bent.