SELF-PORTRAIT AS TOLD TO THE ARTIST:MABA
"Self-Portrait As Told to the Artist: MABA" is one in a series of 48 graphically identical portraits of citizens of the small town of Norfolk, CT. For each work, I invited the subjects to my barn studio and photographed them on B&W Polaroid film. I blew the image up, colored it with acrylics and photo oils, and then cut it out. That the cutouts were almost life-size made it a nightmare to paste them on pre-painted graphic backgrounds. Each sitter was asked for 30 self-descriptive words and also completed the phrase I WISH THAT.... Maba's family had a very long history in Norfolk beginning as slaves. Maba was an artist and a teacher and a force to be reckoned with! The painting is now owned by the Norfolk History Museum.