Moon/River/Sumacs by Diana Berek

All copyrights for the art on this page are owned by the artist, Diana Berek.

Moon/River/Sumacs by Diana Berek

Artist's Statement
"Moon/river/sumacs@earth.sol" Oil on canvas, 1998: 36" x24"
This was the second in the Earth.sol series which celebrates my bond
with nature and my belief that everything we do will change the
environment and the earth in ways we cannot immediately know.
Consequently, we must be cautious and weigh the consequences of
everything we do as a society. We must strive for balance. We must
work satisfy human needs i a just and equitable manner. We must
eliminate corporate greed and we must protect the earth's resources
for the seventh generation.

I have given each of these three paintings an "e-address" to place
them on the electronic map, as if Mother Nature were trying to get
our attention with her own website. Electronics is changing our
lives and our planet. These changes could be an investment in
nurturing future generations and the viability of the earth if we
could only wrest control away from the powerful greed-mongers who lie
and steal from us by their claim of owning the productive forces.

I painted Moon/river/sumacs@earth.sol after an autumn camping trip at
the Mississippi river. I watched the fiery sumacs against the
beautiful flowing river in the late afternoon light. Later I saw the
magnificent full moon. In this painting I try to balance all the
elements: the earth, from which the sumacs grow; the moon, revolving
and communicating with the earth and the Mississippi River which
responds to both the earth and the moon achieving a balance which we
should learn from.

This painting was exhibited at an exhibit entitled "Artists of Rogers
Park", at Excalibur, November, 1999. In an artscope.com review, G.
Jurek Polanski said: " [This painting] is a particularly fine example
of Diana Berek's art for love of formal design and it is quite
enjoyable. The sensuous curves and unfoldings of the night clouds
counterpoint red sumac fronds in a dance of contour and color; a
bright moon seems a fulcrum against which all other elements are
measured. To a degree, Diana Berek combines a telling instinct for
design and compostion with unusal but effective palettes in the serve
of programmatic ideals. Her works reveal a sensitivity for form and
contour and often employ it toward an orphic mannerism."

Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center (UM-CAC). E-mail UM-CAC at umcac@art-teez.org Ph.773/561-7676