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

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.

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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 Accidental Series.

Intentionally or not, since I've returned from my first vacation in years I've managed to amass a collection of same-sized, somewhat-similarly-themed pieces over the last eight weeks.

Dealing largely (and generally) with the juxtaposition of work and leisure, this "series" has come to explore much of the sentiment surrounding discussions taking place in our communities, over the air-waves and across the internet.

Can one truly understand that which one does not experience? Do we want people to understand what they have not experienced? What amount of experience or understanding is enough? Can one ever truly appreciate the perspective one, or someone else, has and what led to it? Can you be concerned with and understand negatives while taking pleasure in the positives? Can you take part in, assist with and improve a situation you don't understand? How, if possible, can those who don't understand join a conversation? And how does one come to the realization that they, in fact, do not actually understand what they are fighting for or against? Do we as individuals want to understand if we actually know what we're talking about? If we are faced with the realization that we are wrong, do we change or find a new way to explain our stance? Are we really interested in understanding each other or rather in other people agreeing with our own viewpoints?

Take a look from start to finish (so far)...

Boatmen.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

Hunting Clams.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

City Parks.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

Resting in the Sun.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas

The Coup.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

The White House.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

The Dream.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

Simmer.
48x60″
Mixed media on canvas.

Ghost. 6/15/2015

Ghost.
60x54″
mixed media on canvas.

Our entire lives are built upon repeatedly facing uncertain circumstances and, hopefully, learning from those experiences to better prepare for the next. And despite the fact that we all have and will face countless unfamiliar situations, each brings its own anxious and troubling presence to our lives until we see the situation through. Like knowingly entering a haunted house and still screaming when a ghost jumps out from behind the creaking door, we can ultimately only prepare and control our reactions to limited degree.

Ghost is about that moment of panic...that brief instance of terror when you realize, if even for a split second and even if you've prepared, that you don't completely recognize your surroundings...that you are faced with something you don't understand. Whether gone a second later or lingering for weeks, our vulnerability is laid bare each time we encounter the unfamiliar.

Ghost is currently availalbe through Kobalt Gallery in Provincetown, MA.

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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

Look Elsewhere, Orlando. 6/11/2014

Look Elsewhere, Orlando.
36x44"
Acrylic on canvas.

Inspired by the sudden and somewhat mysterious death of a friend, Look Elsewhere, Orlando is a portrait of those lost addressing or confronting that from which they are attempting to overcome.

The title speaks to the attempt to escape that issue through a change of location, ultimately realizing that the issue, not the place, is the problem. Symbolized by the Lion, the subject gazes backward, finding the "issue" driving them forward. In a state of shock, the subject realizes that "issue" continuing to follow, despite them having turned their back before. This is not meant to display someone running away...to show a weak or strong character...but to acknowledge the constant presence of our vices, despite our best efforts.

Rather than laying blame, showing anger, hoping to change the future or denying the current state, the piece memorializes a vision of the person lost simply living alongside that which drove them, for better or worse.

L.E.O. is not a piece celebrating life, damning vices nor glossing over reality, it simply shows the state of things.

El Dorado. 2/7/2016

El Dorado.44x54"
Mixed media on canvas.

Despite more technology at our fingertips, more information at our disposal, more options for what to do with our future, and more ability to move from place to place than every before in the history of humanity, many find ourselves yearning daily for what is just beyond our reach. We seem to have every possible avenue for happiness, yet we continue to search for something beyond.

El Dorado takes inspiration from the age-old tale of the search for the lost golden city as a metaphor for our constant desire for what's next. Conquistadors came, conquered, and destroyed civilizations, yet, for centuries, they continued to arrive simply wanting more but often leaving in worse shape (or not at all). After obtaining virtually everything, they found only an insatiable desire for more.

El Dorado is not arguing that you should not seek to improve ones circumstance...it is not saying that you should be content where you are. It is arguing that if you are to move onto the next thing, that that new thing be worthwhile and not simply done out of restlessness.

Many continuously think "better" is just somewhere that they are not...and that's the crux of the issue. When change is simply an avenue to encounter something "better", that avenue must continue as those new places become familiar and, yet again, boring. If change is an avenue to improving the self, the change itself ceases to be the goal and a destination can be found.

Auction Blocks. 4/5/2015

Auction Blocks.
60x48″
Acrylic on canvas.
Auction prices for modern and contemporary art has skyrocketed in recent years while the majority of the general public watch in confusion, even horror, as the equivalent of a large business' annual budget is spent on a painted piece of canvas. We are awed more by the "value" than the work itself...but is that the fault of the work, the artist, the viewer, the dealer, the market or everyone involved?

Auction Blocks is about cultural and monetary value. When our world is largely run by an ability, or lack-there-of, to pay, is the value of art dependent on it’s dollar worth or it’s ability to inspire? And in a world so focused on profit and power, is there much of a difference?

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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

Wren Boys. 2/24/2016

Wren Boys.
40x30″
mixed media on canvas.

Wren Boys is inspired by the many traditions and practices of “Wren Day” and, more generally, the somewhat contradictory methods of remembrance we’ve come to treasure. 

Celebrated in a number of cultures around the world, Wren Day is largely meant as a symbol of rebirth and the coming renewal of spring. To symbolize the renewal, a group kills and present a wren as an offering, hoping to bring luck, life, and a good new year. 

Interestingly, the wren is seen as a positive symbol in most traditions and is considered an animal of nobility, cooperation, innovation, and progress. Somewhat ironically, celtic traditions even consider the bird as a reminder to be kind to others because of its caring nature. Despite this and the honor often bestowed upon the bird, its namesake day revolves around their ritual stoning and eventual killing.

In a more general and modern sense, we as humans ignore much of the life around us, only “honoring” that which has been driven from existence. A certain bird in your backyard may be a nuisance until it makes an appearance on the endangered list, then, instead of scarecrows you’re setting up bird feeders. Even an animal with cultural and symbolic attachments becomes a more important icon when dead in many instances. 

Do we, through our traditions and memorials, actually remember and honor those that have been lost or are we simply hoping the life that we value so much for ourselves doesn’t leave us as well?

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