The Sufferers.

The Sufferers.
50x50″
Mixed media on canvas.
SOLD 

The basic idea is a criticism of our current attitudes about death and our practices for memorialization. Instead of celebrating the person we are so sad to lose, we enhance and memorialize our sadness about them through our practices and actions. We solemnly listen to people talk about thing like how they are on to a better place, only focusing on the loss, not the previous countless memories that cause this loss to be so hard. Instead of working to memorialize the person, we "honor" them by feeling horrible for days, weeks, or months. That's not to say we cannot feel loss or sadness, but that our actions surrounding death, in my view, should be better focused on celebrating the person, not mourning the loss of that person. In short, we should look at death as a reason to celebrate the life that was so meaningful, not to wallow in our own want for that person to still be with us.

More generally, the piece is a call to readdress our outlook on life, death and the world around us. We seem to think that the destination is the ultimate goal of life, however when we reach that destination (death), no matter how fulfilling a life, it is seen as a loss. Even so, we move through each day as if there is some grand “end” we are more interested in achieving. Why forsake the current for a “goal” we don’t seem to fully want or understand? Why focus on an “end” when, if we reach it, we still feel like something is missing? Why do we seem to “celebrate” the state of death rather than the much more beloved state of life? Why do we fill our lives with constant attention to the deadline rather than the time spent getting there?

Again, This is not to say that we can’t feel loss or sadness, that we cannot mourn the loss of the people we love, or that we should not look at the ultimate results of our current actions. What it is saying is that we should not treat death as this momentous milestone…but simply as a small part, the very end, of a long and illustrious journey we all are currently making our way toward.

When we focus on death, we build a barrier between what we loved and what we wish we still had...if we focus on life, that barrier becomes a transition from what we loved to what we remember and still love.

The Sufferers was recently sold and is on it's way to a private collector in the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

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Check out more of Daniel's work at the links below or send him an email with questions or inquiries.
http://www.dflemingart.com/
http://danielflemingart.tumblr.com/archive

The Black Cat Alley Project: Grand Opening.

If you're an artist in Milwaukee, get ready to work! Great things are happening all over the city, accentuated by yesterday's Grand Opening of the Black Cat Alley Project, part of the annual Doors Open event.

Artists include MTO, Cera, John Kowalczyk, Jenny Jo Kristan, Renee Aless Martinez, Ian McGibbon, Brandon Minga, Jeff Redmon, Bunnie Reiss, Tia Richardson and Adam James Stoner.

Check them out on the website or facebook for more info.

Get over to the Black Cat Alley Project website for more info and make sure to check out this great project as it continues to bring new and exciting art to the streets of Milwaukee.

Join the conversation over on Facebook and Instagram

Check out more of Daniel's work at the links below or send him an email with questions or inquiries.
http://www.dflemingart.com/
http://danielflemingart.tumblr.com/archive

Oasis. Or Paradise.

Oasis. Or Paradise.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

When dying of thirst and crawling through a desert, even an isolated, minuscule, and ultimately useless oasis could feel like a personal paradise, protecting you from the arid heat and inhospitable landscape that stretches for hundreds of miles.

After quenching your thirst and retrieving your senses, though, you may realize this "paradise" is nothing but a mirage itself. The trees, though providing shade, cannot travel with you and cannot deliver you to your destination. The water, though life-giving and necessary, cannot be stored for later use. The rest, though energizing, is temporary and physically keeps you from your ultimate goal.

The oasis, at one time a necessity in your quest once carrying the promise of life, now, in many ways, stands as a barrier to reaching your destination. The water that brings life now displays the utter lifelessness of the desert around you. The trees now serve to enhance the beating sun whenever you step out from their shadow. The rest, once a welcome change, now holds you in an embrace as you dread the thought of another step.

Today, it is very easy to sit still. Instead of walking away from the oasis, we get comfortable with the simple things around us. It's easier to browse social media than look for work. It's easier to scroll through page after page of mindless news rather than educate ourselves in meaningful ways. It's easier to wallow in listlessness than it is to self-motivate. We grow used to where we've come to rest and forget the destination that once drove us.

It's not to say that the oasis is an inherently bad place or a place we must avoid (it wouldn't have appeared to be such a paradise without fulfilling some important need at that time) but, in order to truly reach any meaningful destination, we must avoid falling in love with the ease of rest and the comfort of ease. For when the oasis becomes the paradise, we've forgotten that we once actually had a place we were trying to go.

Oasis. Or Paradise is currently available through the Artist in Milwaukee, WI.

Join the conversation over on Facebook and Instagram

Check out more of Daniel's work at the links below or send him an email with questions or inquiries.
http://www.dflemingart.com/
http://danielflemingart.tumblr.com/archive