Artist Elizabeth McGee Ponders Heroes vs. Villans, Myth vs. Fact

Submitted by the Festival of Arts:

Festival of Arts exhibitor Elizabeth McGhee unveiled her newest portrait in her "Mythica" series on Friday, August 23rd, at her Festival booth, #71. Elizabeth's work features local models cast as modern allegorical figures from Greek mythology.
 
Elizabeth explains, "My 'Mythica' paintings focus on women in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, but placed in a contemporary setting. In the past year my work has inspired me to expand the series to 80 pieces encompassing both goddesses and mortals. Rather than being illustrative recreations of myths, each portrait is a psychological character study of an often overlooked or historically incidental individual."
 
Ancient and modern are interwoven in her work as Elizabeth explains, "As a visual storyteller I chose to represent my subjects through a contemporary lens. A mythological woman who may have only one literary mention or epitaph in ancient literature is ripe for reinterpretation. I want to adjust the focus on these classical myths so that the familiar heroes of antiquity serve only as a backdrop to spotlight my modern heroines."
 
In taking such liberties, Elizabeth is following an ancient path first struck by the likes of Homer and Ovid. She states that this reinterpretation of myth is not new. Whether a mythological character was portrayed as a villain or a hero varied by who was telling the story. Myths have always evolved to suit the teller's agenda, or adapt new additions to appeal to new audiences. “I am continuing this tradition, stretching these ancient archetypes to express my own contemporary interpretations and to inspire others to critically examine the familiar." 
 
Elizabeth's gallerist, long-time Festival jeweler Don Beres at Laguna-in-the-Round, has been documenting Elizabeth's portraiture through time-lapse photography. After seeing a volunteer cast member as Aphrodite in the Hearst Castle pool re-creation in this year’s Hollywood themed Pageant of the Masters production of "The Big Picture," Don was inspired to launch a project to document Elizabeth’s entire creative process from the time sets her model's pose until the painting is completed.
 
"The narrator's rendition of the famous conflict between Hearst, his movie star-mistress Marion Davies and Orson Wells was a powerful reminder of the effect art and cinema can have on politics and power," said Don. "I nearly jumped up and knew that Elizabeth's art must be explored through video."
 
The film, shot in Laguna-in-the-Round's studio, follows Elizabeth and her model, as they discuss their vision of the myth and select costumes and symbolic jewelry to be used to tell the story. Being a tragic tale of Psyche's entangled relationship with Cupid, the pearl earrings worn by the model suggest the numerous tears shed by Psyche. Her golden bracelets are both the shackles of her fate, and the gifts she must use to bribe her passageway through the Underworld.
 
A preview of the video is on display at Elizabeth McGhee’s booth (#71) at the Festival of Arts through August 31, with a premiere of the complete video slated for presentation at Laguna-in-the-Round in the near future, date to be announced.
 
For more information on the art of Elizabeth McGhee, please visit www.elizabethmcghee.com; and Laguna-in-the-Round Gallery,www.donberes.com; and the Festival of Arts, www.foapom.com.