Over The Lip 2016

Curator: Looking at Terri Kelly Moyers' "Over The Lip," created in 2016 with oil paint, one immediately senses the sheer power and ephemeral beauty of the ocean. Editor: It evokes such a transient feeling, doesn’t it? Like witnessing a moment of raw, untamed force that's about to dissipate. The colors are almost ethereal. Curator: Absolutely. Think about how the wave, traditionally, signifies change, movement, and the subconscious. Moyers captures that fleeting, transformative energy. The way the light catches that little patch of turquoise is very suggestive of something hidden. Editor: It's intriguing how such a destructive force, historically linked with masculinity and dominance, is rendered here in these pastel tones. There’s a softening, perhaps a subtle feminizing of the seascape tradition. I mean, think about the long history of largely male artists painting epic seascapes and their relationship with nature's power. This feels…different. Curator: A reclaiming, perhaps? Or even a peaceful, accepting approach to environmental power? Consider the symbols we typically assign to water – cleansing, renewal, life. This scene may suggest an encounter that, although turbulent, also offers rejuvenation. The wave crest is in a way a threshold, as the title suggests. Editor: I agree. I read the title, "Over the Lip," as representing risk but also a daring willingness to go beyond perceived limitations, echoing conversations about humanity's ongoing battle to mitigate rising sea levels and change within existing patriarchal frameworks. Curator: And what is even beyond? The sky's nondescript shade hints at infinite possibilities or, perhaps, unknowable outcomes, in an interesting combination of symbolisms that can evoke anxiety but also quiet hope. The very style seems caught between the tangible and the impressionistic. Editor: Perhaps Moyer suggests a middle ground. It allows the wave to possess an agency of its own, disrupting traditional depictions. Ultimately, the oil painting asks the audience about one's interpretation of freedom and change, for the water but also for the people looking at it. Curator: Very insightful. I will contemplate that more on the drive home. Editor: Agreed! A painting can lead to countless journeys of its own.