Tarot card illustration is a fascinating motif for artists, as it supplies a broad basis for a visual idea while requiring that there be enough esoteric detail in the drawing to 'read' from. This drawing began as a roughly sketched idea and was transferred immediately to digital medium for painstaking elaboration.
Thane created this piece just prior to his leaving ML for Portland in the Spring of 2004. Things then were looking much better for him on the other side of the mountains, as the depressing mindset and general sense of apathy permeating The Hole at that time may be represented by the ominous background imagery. The exaggerated, outstretched, ambitious leg for the character may represent the artist’s longing for escape, while the darkly cloaked, protective sackcloth-like garment suggests simultaneously both internal state of mind and external attempts to preserve his artistic creativity during the final days before the move. The “Fool” then clutches his notebook and paintbrush (artistic vehicle, purpose, and inspiration) tightly as he “steps” over the hills to a brighter tomorrow. More could be said here, however, the real enigma rests in the potential irony of the works’ title, which may be taken on a multitude of interpretive levels.
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1 • weech — January 3, 2009 at 11:18 pm
i don’t get how the name is connected to the image but it does cause me to question and ponder…something art should get out of its’ audience. i imagine someone being chased and is possibly hiding from something. the book it holds seems to be something to be treasured and is possibly the reason for hiding or to be chased for? large sheets of pealing leather? shadow/shade/texture. enough is left outside the image that my imagination creates all sorts of possibilities.