Abstraction in Black and Green
This is a more idiosyncratic one-of-a-kind Steve Brophy that I probably love more than others do. I am not sure why it speaks to me. It’s the utter gaiety of its dance-like movement. I made up the title Abstraction in Black and Green, but perhaps it’s better served by calling it Dancers in Black.
I see black stick figures dancing with abandon across the stage of the canvas, against a backdrop of red, green and blue shapes — joyously proclaiming their freedom. They’re confident in their place in the world, no matter how chaotic and unpredictable that world may be, saying, We have to make really good use of our time on planet Earth while we can!
So that brings me to what I can say about this painting now, nearly one year after Steve did indeed leave our planet. Like most of us, he didn’t choose to prolong his life if it meant that he had to change well-worn behaviors. Cigarettes and coffee. Standing back from a painting in progress, smoking and looking, picking up the brush, putting down the coffee cup, dangling the cigarette until it was a pure line of ash.
The painting expresses Steve’s joie de vivre. At the same time, and here I’m probably on shakier ground, it hints at what comes next – thoughts he so often expressed flippantly, a kind of Yippee, we’re all gonna die (thanks, Country Joe), and so why dwell on it. But for all the humor and sparring, the dance itself, if you follow, is between life and death. The dancer in the foreground has no head.
Maybe I have no right to overlay this interpretation on an abstract painting. But…Steve frequently thought of the life he’d meet on the other side. It’s not a stretch to offer this interpretation and stay true to him. He read and thought and, yes, prayed, for eternity. I am sorry that I didn’t record a conversation with him about his beliefs. I’m sorry I was too tied to the earth to appreciate what was clearly beyond my grasp. While this is a regret, I have the painting. It contains his spirit.
Steve was a natural born artist. He attacked the canvas with paints and brushes, and he structured and developed what emerged, in fast succession. I don’t believe he labored this or the one I’ve pictured below. I think they were done quickly. I truly wish I remember more.
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