It's my party (2021)
"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to."
- Lesley Gore
For me, Lesley Gore's 1960s chart-topping pop song, "It's my party", brings to mind visions of a woman dancing on top of a kitchen table, hair wild, mascara running, her mouth covered in a mess of birthday cake remains... While some may dismiss Gore's song as a catchy pop song about a good-old, boy-crazy cry session, I see something more. For me, it symbolizes a woman willing to voice what she wants and wear her heart on her sleeve. She's willing to cry in public and ask for space. "Play all my records, keep dancing all night / But leave me alone for awhile/ ... / It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to"
Evocative of blown-out candles, half-eaten cake, and a pink frosting-covered fingers, this series of paintings calls for a loud, messy, unapologetic existence. Live every day like it's your birthday. Be the center of attention. Relish in the sugar-rush of deservingness and reckless celebration. The messiness of the frosting-like paint and bold pink colors tell the tale of a woman not afraid to take up space. She has her cake and is eating it too.
Cry. Sing. Dance. Yell. It's your party...and you can do whatever you want.
"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to."
- Lesley Gore
For me, Lesley Gore's 1960s chart-topping pop song, "It's my party", brings to mind visions of a woman dancing on top of a kitchen table, hair wild, mascara running, her mouth covered in a mess of birthday cake remains... While some may dismiss Gore's song as a catchy pop song about a good-old, boy-crazy cry session, I see something more. For me, it symbolizes a woman willing to voice what she wants and wear her heart on her sleeve. She's willing to cry in public and ask for space. "Play all my records, keep dancing all night / But leave me alone for awhile/ ... / It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to"
Evocative of blown-out candles, half-eaten cake, and a pink frosting-covered fingers, this series of paintings calls for a loud, messy, unapologetic existence. Live every day like it's your birthday. Be the center of attention. Relish in the sugar-rush of deservingness and reckless celebration. The messiness of the frosting-like paint and bold pink colors tell the tale of a woman not afraid to take up space. She has her cake and is eating it too.
Cry. Sing. Dance. Yell. It's your party...and you can do whatever you want.