RICHARD VENTRE

Artist Statement

These works are a compilation of three disciplines: painting, photography, and photomontage. The merging of these disparate mediums within one image advances the creative viewpoint from the realm of ‘what is’ to ‘what if’. It opens up a vast array of possibilities beyond the scope of a single photograph.

These prints are interpretations that evolved from the Jasper Johns mid-twentieth century paintings of the American Flag.

They are counterpoint to the intent of its true colors:
Red - hardiness and valor; White - purity and innocence;
Blue - vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

Painted on the body, it becomes part of who we are. Tattered, threadbare, faded, torn.

We are the flag.

Representing iconic symbols of the Nation, the women in this ensemble address the spiritual demise of what had been steadfast assurances of a democracy.

Imperfect as those could be, they had been the Nation’s benchmarks.

These images are American. They express what we have witnessed and experienced in the course of being American.

I completed a forty five year career as a theatrical Scenic Artist in 2012. I was a Master Scenic Artist on more than fifty movies including the Emmy Award winning Death of a Salesman, and the Academy Award winning Sleepy Hollow. I completed my theatrical career painting for the Metropolitan Opera.
My creative medium now is photomontage and, working with the female nude, is exclusively in the school of Dramatic Narrative. By applying decades of theatrical experience, the images created depict the painted female nude set within a unique context. Each work is rendered from multiple images digitally woven together.
Throughout the years as a professional Scenic Artist my job was to hone my skills to scenically depict the story at hand. Whether sitting through rehearsals, studying the Director of Photography setting up a shot, or seeing how the Lighting Designer shaped the space on stage, I absorbed each approach to telling the story. Amassing this invaluable information has been key in telling our stories in Dramatic Narrative.
Without the collaboration of each of the women represented in these images there would be no narrative to tell. It is their experiences and the belief in what they are saying which create the breath within each interpretation. As important as all of the above is, there are the countless times my assistants have been a co-creative source in the Studio. For those reasons, I always refer to these images as "our" work.
Working with them has been the artistic stream that’s flowed through all of us, which in turn has formed a most unique ensemble and an enriching body of work. For that experience, I cannot thank them enough.