Better Half

(India ink on paper, 18”x13.5”)

The world still seems most comfortable celebrating what happens to women as opposed to what is accomplished by women. Marriage and motherhood are still the tacit gold standard and are inherently imperative no matter what else one might achieve. Societal support is also offered more abundantly to those women who fit into that unintimidating, reassuring box labeled “Wife/Mother”, despite the fact that single women often need the broader community behind them more acutely.

Better Half, the fourth piece in the Half-life series, deals with the relational and represents that single women are often viewed as being incomplete. To depict this, I systematically stripped away half of the visual information in this self-portrait. What remains still constitutes a fully-realized composition, suggesting that the “missing” elements are merely an optical illusion. I employed a stippling technique to create a modeled effect in the image, setting it apart more obviously from the blank stripes.

When considering single women, instead of defaulting to tired stereotypes such as “jezebel” or “spinster”, realize that it takes complete confidence to successfully walk the wire of life without the safety net of a mate. This feat deserves responses of admiration and encouragement, not confusion, suspicion, derision, or exclusion.

I sought to convey both strength and vulnerability in Better Half, and when deciding on its song for the Half-life playlist, those same qualities shone through Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”. As shimmering as its title suggests, “Heart of Glass” is an undeniable classic that combines sadness and sweetness to dazzling effect. If I had any doubts about my choice, they were silenced when I remembered the album Blondie released “Heart of Glass” on: Parallel Lines. Sometimes you just need to take a hint.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCqyznXdAYhqp0YVi6XnXe9b9_HxuVqXa