Linda Hofheinz’s “Artifacts, Images and Tales from the Rapaångi Expeditions” at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art
Grasshoppers know it’s not easy being green. Even if Kermit the Frog disagreed. Linda Hofheinz admitted to being sweet on grasshoppers. “They jump forward, not sideways, or backward. And forward is the best path.” One grasshopper is accompanied by what seems to be a Hindu goddess.
Sir Richard Burton, the explorer and adventurer, not the actor, lived in India. While there he owned some tame monkeys. He was eccentric, and gave his monkeys titles, “aide-de-camp,” for instance. One female monkey was his “secretary.” She stole a letter, the cupid on its envelope indicates it was important. Why, is unclear, but worthy of speculation. One more mystery to confront in Linda Hofheinz’s exhibition “Artifacts, Images and Tales from the Rapaångi Expeditions” through November 27, 2021, at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art.
To me, the dark blue decorative collar around the secretary’s little head is naughty. Perhaps it addresses human vanity. Or pokes fun at our absurd fashion choices. This is speculation of course. Secretary monkey isn’t the only beast in the exhibition to wear a decorative collar. “Jackrabbit with Two Cherries” sports a red collar. Such a frou-frou adornment seems at odds with jackrabbit’s long nose and ears. A squirrel snatching a peach wears a collar, so does another monkey. Hofheinz said intricate patterns on “doilies” inspired the collars.
“Jackrabbit with Two Cherries” has a literary association. It is tied to Mark Twain. “Grip and the Feast of Cherries” is also grounded in literature. In “Barnaby Rudge,” one of Charles Dicken’s characters was a raven named Grip. Dickens, it turns out, owned a pet raven. The rascal talked a lot. After Grip died in 1841, its body was preserved. The show features a rendering of Grip surrounded by literary text. Hofheinz’s fascination with rhinoceros which originated 50 million years ago led to the painting “Hands – Rhinoceros.” This artwork incorporates a quote by Nelson Mandela and elements of a Durer woodcut.
There are several ways to break through to other dimensions. Deep meditation might accomplish it, or entering a trance state, perhaps some good acid. A walloping brain malfunction is another way. That happened to Hofheinz. She suffered a bleeding brain caused by an inoperable condition. Naturally, she assumed her art career was down the toilet. Activities to improve eye-hand coordination however eventually helped her to regain vision, speech, motion, and the ability to paint. Unexpectedly, she felt liberated, through awareness of extradimensional reality.
At deeper levels of awareness, one embraces adventure. Hofheinz said the sculptures and mixed media paintings in the exhibition evoke locales ranging from Aquilla to Zanzibar. The painting, “Marco” for instance references Marco Polo’s adventures in Venice, China, Persia, India, Vietnam, and Japan. Not far from “Marco” is an assemblage sculpture that summons Brigarden Castle which appears on the Irish moors only once every 100 years. Across the board, the artworks intone “the spiritual dimension of realms unseen.”