Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro’s auras, after Piero della Francesca, (above) 18” x 13” each, hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton.
I really dig Anna Von Mertens 'Aura Portraits' I recently came across. Her combination of new age and old school craft combined with traditional hand dying knock my socks off. Beyond that though I love that Anna does not for a minute take herself too seriously, but yet is very quite candid her process:
"While I admit to an element of the ridiculous--painting auras of dead people--these works are sincere portraits. As I researched how to read the prescribed distinctions of the tones and placement of colors in an aura photograph, I found myself getting seduced by belief. I found that in building a narrative of the subject's life through color, an emotional presence surfaced. Allowing myself to believe seemed part of the process."
I respect that in such a big way. Plus her work is just simply gorgeous to take in. Anna's Aura Portraits will be on show at Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, OR Jan 6-28, 2011 as well as at her ProjectRoom show in Lincoln, NE Oct 1-30, 2010.
To read more about Anna's work and see the paintings she has reinterpreted please check out an interview with Anna in At Length.
Kurt Cobain’s aura (Zoe’s), after Elizabeth Peyton, 13 ¾” x 11”, (below) hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton.
Mary Cassatt’s aura, after Degas, 32 ½” x 24”, (below) hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton.
Bacchus’s aura, after Caravaggio, 39 ¾” x 33”, (below) hand-dyed, hand-stitched cotton.
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