Weāre just beginning to fathom the changes between the pre-COVID and post-COVID worlds.
The last time I was in the Picker Room of the Camden Public Library was for an opening for my pal Peter Yesis. That was the last opening the library had before COVID shut it down, programs coordinator Julia Pierce told me recently.
Iād recently seen my old friend Christine Long at an art opening in Rochester, NY. Sheās an epidemiologist, and she muttered that she hoped sheād be able to retire ābefore COVID hits.ā That gave me pause, because Christine is a very smart woman. Until then, I assumed COVID was going to be a flash-in-the-pan, like avian flu had been.
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| Termination dust, oil on canvasboard, 6×8, $435 |
It was, however, still a blip on the horizon on the evening of Peterās opening. That night, Ken DeWaard introduced me to the āelbow bump.ā I thought it was funny, but Iāll probably never shake a strangerās hand again. Thatās only one small change between the eras we might call pre-COVID and post-COVID.
That week was the last week I spent in what I might call āold time.ā The next Thursday I flew to Argentina, and all hell broke loose. People have asked me why we still went when COVID was marching across the globe. The answer is, simply, that our own government said it was safe to travel. 24 hours later, they changed their minds.
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| Owl’s Head, 18×24, oil on linenboard, $2318 |
The calendar notation anno Domini (AD) tells us that something profound happened at that moment that changed the course of human history. No, COVID isnāt on the same scale as the birth of Christ, but it seems to have made lasting changes in our culture. Weāre still just beginning to fathom what they are.
Itās both fitting and passing strange that Iām the first artist scheduled in what I hope will be a long, uninterrupted line of post-COVID openings at the library. My show is called Welcome back to real life and it will be up in the Picker Room for the month of November.
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| Belfast Harbor, oil on canvasboard, 14×18, $1594 |
The opening will be Friday, November 5, from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. The library asks that masks be worn, which is just one small way in which post-COVID life differs from what we knew before.
2020 was an unprecedented challenge for artists, with galleries closing and classes and workshops cancelled. It also created new opportunities. For example, I would never have taught online before. Now I actually prefer it to live classes. Itās an opportunity to work with students from all over the country, and it allows students to hear everything I say one-on-one to their classmates. Thatās impossible in a large room or outdoors.
On that subject, my students reminded me yesterday that the new session starts the week of November 8. There are a few openings. My website is undergoing a redesign, which I donāt think will be finished by then, but you can get the general information here, and contact me here to register.
Welcome Back to Real Life; paintings by Carol L. Douglas
Camden Public Library Picker Room
55 Main Street, Camden Maine
Friday, November 5, 3:30-5:30 PM
The show is hanging through the month of November.