~DINA GADIA / TAYLOR McKIMENS . . HORSING AROUND

of course as soon as I write that, I find a a very very strong piece by DINA GADIA.
and my question is: is, ETHOS . . always peaceful ?

and what about: KRATOS . . power.

DINA GADIA vs TAYLOR McKIMENS, it’s not so much a ‘versus’ . . as a dialog.
a contrast of visual style and expression.
a contrast of . . intention.
the common element being the . . horse.
a strange enough pictorial symbol . . ?
a political symbol ?
a dream symbol ?
a fantasy-powered unicorn in Taylor’s hands, a retro-charged symbol of power in Dina’s.
in Taylor’s painting the horse is tired, and bound by barbed wire, choking him at the neck.
he seems almost a unicorn, he is so other-worldy and surrounded by eerie light.
a dreamy sub-conscious . . ethos.
in Dina’s work – the horse is a cowboy (American ?) power play, trampling the (foreign ?) wrestlers / culture / ethos.
kratos vs ethos ?

in both artists’ hands, a human has been bounced. in Taylor’s painting he wears a cast.
in Dina’s, 2 strong men – are trampled underfoot.

I offer you DINA GADIA & TAYLOR McKIMENS . . horsing around, just because
. . . I can !!


DINA GADIA, ‘Body Western’, acrylic on thrift painting, 2014.
too bad she doesn’t include the scale ?
a political commentary ?
a fantasy ?
a power play within the imagination – projected out onto the world stage ?
image via DINA GADIA, hold yr horses


TAYLOR McKIMES with his painting, ‘Cactus Rider’, 2015. 84 x 101.75 in
more like a ‘fate’ / a ‘constellation’ of stars in the sky, than a dream.
a political statement ? a social statement ?
a power play within the imagination – projected out upon out our deeper psyche ?

PHOTOS OF TAYLOR McKIMENS & HIS WORK: NANCY SMITH
TAYLOR McKIMENS: 2008-2015 COMMISSIONS BY BRIGHT LYONS, FEB 3 – 17. 2015, NYC

PHOTO OF DINA GADIA,’Body Western’ – from her website