On view June 26 - July 26, 2020
Paul Flippen 28. Sleeping Ink and acrylic on paper 2016
36days by Paul Flippen will be exhibited in the Massillon Museum’s Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery from June 26 through July 26, 2020.
The artwork in the exhibition examines the emotions and ethics of the end of life, through drawings and text describing the narrative of one family’s experience. Negotiating with doctors, each other, the artist’s family sought to do what was best for his father. "I lost my father to a stroke his third day in the hospital. He didn’t die for another month,” Flippen said.
Thirty-six drawings of pen and ink layered over eroded surfaces of paint weave in and out of an equal number of text panels that detail Flippen’s relationship with his father and his reactions to his passing. “Shifting from crisp scientific renderings to the atmospherics of memory, the words and images navigate one account of modern medicine meeting family history,” Flippen said.
To learn more about the artist, visit paulflippen.com. His book, 36days, can be purchased in the Museum shop, OHregionalities, beginning June 26 or online at ohregionalities.bigcartel.com.
ABOUT THE BIG READ:
36days complements the themes of aging and end-of-life considerations addressed by the book MassMu selected for this year’s NEA Big Read—Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. Free copies of Chast's book will be available at the Museum starting July 11. For more information about this year's Big Read program, click here.
Paul Flippen takes viewers on the journey through the artworks that makeup the 36days series.
Artist Paul Flippen shares his thoughts on this year's Big Read book, Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast.
Paul Flippen takes viewers to his studio, showing and explaining his process for creating his work.