University of Colorado Denver issued the following announcement on Sept. 11.
Changes are afoot in virtually all aspects of post-pandemic life, including the art world. CU Denver’s Emmanuel Gallery held its first ever virtual gallery opening Wednesday, Sept. 2. The exhibition, Urgent Importance, focused on paintings and drawings by Denver portrait artist Julie Puma, which explore the connection between technology and communication.
Puma began the series by using photographs and images from Snapchat and FaceTime, after she discovered that her family and friends preferred to message her through social media. At work, Puma’s colleagues would use FaceTime instead of walking over to speak to her in person. This dynamic also played out at home with her daughter. “I created this body of work as a way to slow down that barrage of imagery that we all receive on a daily basis,” she said.
The finished paintings depict faces, along with hand-written messages, captions, and other details from social media. One painting depicts a woman wearing bunny ears, and another includes a large image of a person’s face along with an inset image of another person (the recipient and caller of a FaceTime video chat).
I Love Mom, Snapchat, and Teen Language
Puma’s paintings acknowledge the artificial nature of social media exchanges without passing judgment. Instead, viewers are left to question how the filter of technology affects how they are seeing and perceiving the individuals in the work. “I’m a contemporary portrait realist artist,” she said. “When I say contemporary, I mean the concept and the subject matter is what matters to me.”
Personally, Puma is not exactly sure how technology is shaping our view of ourselves and of others. When she began the series in 2016, she was partly reacting to her teenaged daughter’s use of Snapchat. “They [teens] send these pictures back and forth with captions,” she said. “They’re eliminating language.”
But it’s not all bad, Puma realized. “My daughter was more comfortable sharing her intimate feelings through text message,” she said. So Puma got a Snapchat account and started communicating in her daughter’s imagistic “language.” This resulted in Puma’s painting “I Love Mom,” which made it to the fourth round of the Smithsonian Portrait Competition.
Puma Pivots to ER Front-Line Workers
Puma shifted her focus once the COVID-19 global health crisis became a life-altering reality. “One of my friends, Mia Martin, works at the Anschutz emergency room; she started sending me texts about how horrible it was … People were dying every day,” Puma said. She wondered if there was any way to turn her shock and fear and grief into something useful.
So she asked Martin to send pictures of her co-workers at the ER on Snapchat. Puma then used those images to create two portraits. One features a woman in scrubs wearing a medical gown and cap. She has pushed her protective goggles onto her head, and her face is red and sore. The other painting Puma did as a way to work through “the initial panic of the March phase” is Tony Defebio, a respiratory therapist who attended the gallery opening in person (as part of a small group wearing masks and maintaining a safe distance).
At the opening, Puma asked him if he could speak about the painting, since he was the subject of the portrait. He is shown wearing imposing personal protective equipment that cocoons his entire head, his expression direct but inscrutable. “I think she captured what it’s like to be on the front lines,” he said.
Puma wants to continue the series. “I want to show the diverse people who are on the front lines, health care workers of all ethnicities and nationalities,” she said. “It’s not just doctors; it’s also people on the cleaning staff, security guards, respiratory therapists,” she added.
Emmanuel Gallery as Spiritual Space
While the virtual gallery opening had some minor technology issues like intermittent poor sound quality, the experience was particularly meaningful for the artist. “I’ve always been in love with the Emmanuel Gallery,” Puma said. “It’s so beautiful and intimate.” Laurence Kaptain, dean of the College of Arts & Media, who attended the event, agrees with her. “Emmanuel Gallery holds a special place as CU Denver’s mind, heart, and soul,” he said.
Puma, who is Jewish, said Emmanuel Gallery always spoke to her. The gallery, which is housed in Denver’s oldest standing church, was previously used as a synagogue. Perhaps this spiritual space is particularly fitting for her art. “Painting is a contemplative process for me,” she said. “We’re all as a society searching for who we are … I hope and I really wish that this work brings some joy to those who are really struggling,” she added.
Original source can be found here.
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