CRUMBS OF WISDOM - digital paintings by Chalda Maloff

CHALDA MALOFF

FRONT COVER do not print

CrumbsOfWisdom_Chalda_2022_covers.pdf

CRUMBS OF WISDOM

FRONT COV E R:

“DON’T TEST THE DEPTH OF THE WATER WITH BOTH FEET" C HINE SE P ROVE RB INSIDE FRONT COVER do not print

CrumbsOfWisdom_Chalda_2022_covers.pdf

“Don’t Test the Depth of the Water with Both Feet" DETAILS

Crumbs of Wisdom is a series of digital paintings, presented in small editions as pigment ink prints on gloss paper, face-mounted to sheets of museum-grade acrylic. No photographic process was used in the creation of these artworks.

Creative tools: Wacom® tablet, Corel® Painter™, Adobe® Photoshop®, MAC®, Epson 9800® printer.

CRUMBS OF WISDOM IN S IG H TS F ROM TH E HUMAN R AC E

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ARTIST STATEMENT CHALDA MALOFF

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Found in Sumerian cuneiform, proverbs are at least as old as writing but are still food for thought for a society that values the brevity of text-messaging. These adages, enduring through time, pass along worldly wisdom gained through experience. Many have equivalents in multiple cultures throughout the world. Reflecting on human nature, proverbs are constructed in a way that suggests cognitive patterns that we all share. In this series of digital paintings, CRUMBS OF WISDOM, I explore the contemporary visual possibilities of traditional, universal, often humorous proverbs.

Proverbs employ figurative language that lends itself to picture-making. Best-known are the genre paintings the 17th-century Dutch painters, but the language play, symbolism, and sentiments are equally a starting place for abstract representation. My developed method of using the computer as an art tool enlists some of the qualities that are characteristic of proverbs, especially the succinctness, interrupted expectations, and dense layering of information. My vocabulary of biomorphic shapes, flowing lines, liquid-like highlights, and recognizable forms allow all viewers to approach these artworks on equal footing. Each viewer is invited to linger and draw forth his or her own interpretation.

For a period, the notion of accepted truths may have been out of favor; but more recently, artists have revisited timehonored themes and modes, such as allegory and emblems.

With CRUMBS OF WISDOM, I re-present ancient and folk wisdom for a turbulent time in need of communal understanding, common sense, and a smile.

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“THE REVERSE SIDE ALSO HAS A REVERSE SIDE" JAPANE SE P ROVE RB 6

Isn’t the reverse side of the reverse side, just the front? Maybe….maybe not.

Every issue has multiple points of view, and matters are rarely as they seem.

Life is a never-ending discovery.

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“BEWARE A SILENT DOG AND STILL WATER” LATIN PROVERB

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Be wary when a situation seems too calm.

Stagnant water can be poisonous...

An angry person who is silent might be more dangerous than one who is shouting histrionically.

D E TA I L S

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“A TREE NEVER HITS AN AUTOMOBILE EXCEPT IN SELF-DEFENSE” AM ERICAN P ROVE RB

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“WITH THE CAMEL’S NOSE IN THE TENT, THE BODY SOON FOLLOWS” SAUDI P ROVE RB One cold night, as an Arab lay in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Friend," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here."

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"All right," said the Arab, as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel said, "I will take just a little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent."

"Okay," said the Arab reluctantly, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

The Arab, with difficulty in the crowded quarters, again went to sleep.

When he next awoke, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

It is a wise rule to resist the beginnings of evil.

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“WHEN ANTS UNITE THEY CAN CONQUER A LION” ETHIOP IAN P ROVE RB

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“I DON'T WANT THE CHEESE, I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF THE TRAP”

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SPANISH P ROVE RB

DETAI LS

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“YOU CANNOT WAKE ONE WHO IS PRETENDING TO SLEEP” NAVAJO P ROVE RB

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“UNTIL LIONS HAVE THEIR HISTORIANS, TALES OF THE HUNT SHALL ALWAYS GLORIFY THE HUNTER” 20

AFRICAN PROVERB

Brings to mind George Orwell’s: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past."

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“CHASE TWO RABBITS AND BOTH WILL ESCAPE” JAPANE SE P ROVE RB

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“WORRY GIVES A SMALL THING A BIG SHADOW”

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SWEDISH P ROVE RB

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“DO NOT BARGAIN FOR FISH WHICH ARE STILL IN THE WATER" IND IAN P ROVE RB

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“WHEN THE MOUSE LAUGHS AT THE CAT, THERE'S A HOLE NEARBY” NIGE RIAN P ROVE RB

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D E TA I L

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“THROW DIRT AND YOU LOSE GROUND" MU C H -IGNORE D T E XAN PO L I T ICAL P ROVE RB

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“WAIT UNTIL NIGHT BEFORE SAYING IT HAS BEEN A FINE DAY”

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FR ENC H PROVER B

D E TA I L

“DON’T SQUAT WITH YOUR SPURS ON”

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T E XAN P ROVE RB

DETA IL S

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“AFTER THE GAME, THE KING AND THE PAWN GO INTO THE SAME BOX”

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ITALIAN P ROVE RB

DETA IL

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BACK COV E R: “After the Game, the King and the Pawn Go into the Same Box” DETAIL

INSIDE BACK COVER do not print

CrumbsOfWisdom_Chalda_2022_covers.pdf

BACK COVER do not print

CrumbsOfWisdom_Chalda_2022_covers.pdf

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