Artist as Seductress: The World of Jane O’Hara
Animal Culture
Education and Advocacy, Promoting the Health and Welfare of All Sentient Beings.
Vol 6 Issue 1 September, 2023
BY PATRICIA DENYS AND MARY HOLMES
O’Hara recently spoke to us in some detail about her State of the Union exhibition. From her website: “In State of the Union artist Jane O’Hara, an advocate for animals, examines the topic of animal rights across the United States. Gathering inspiration from disparate sources, from nostalgic postcard iconography and pop reference, to depicting the animal condition both behind the scenes and in plain sight, O’Hara has us look at our 50 states from both entertaining and serious perspectives.”
California State of the Union,” 2020, acrylic on canvas, 31” x 20”
Her first painting in the series was Florida, which was completed four years ago. “I started with the State of Florida. I had been getting some information from Jane Velez-Mitchell with “Jane Unchained” about a bear hunt where something like 600 cubs were left without parents for no real reason. It seemed a very political, good old boys’ type of decision. I was learning also about the primate breeding facility, primate products in Florida. I was learning about abuses at Larson’s Dairy, which of course is above and beyond the abuse that exists at all dairies. And then, the entertainment industry with dolphins. I was very interested in that.”
She was in Florida at the time, and was aware of the contrasts between what she discovered and Florida’s reputation as a fun vacationland. She was not originally thinking of doing a series of paintings, but when the Florida State of the Union painting got her into a residency at Rare Air, in Alamosa, CO, she realized she wanted to paint more, and do all the states. During the residency she completed four other paintings in the series.
O’Hara admits there was no specific strategy involved in how she determined the order of the states painted. She started with states she felt connected with – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and California. After that it was pretty much
a random progression. What was her motivation for such a major undertaking? She had been in a previous exhibition, focused on companion animals, at the New Bedford Art Museum, “Who Rescued Who?” She impulsively contacted Jamie Uretsky, museum director, and showed Uretsky her recent paintings. The director responded enthusiastically, “Let’s do a show.” Fortunately, the show was booked for three years out, which gave O’Hara time to complete all the paintings.
The response to the exhibit, which remains up until August 20th, has been heartening. “The reaction has been very positive. I think it’s been very eye opening to some people. I mean, one goal I realized with this exhibition is to reach out to regular people, not just preaching to the choir or the animal
rights group. So, on that front, I think it’s been very satisfying. I’m not at the museum most of the time, but I can recount what happened at the opening, which was a lot of people showed up and a lot of commentary, just amazement of the whole thing but also, some of the issues going on in that each state or a particular state they might be focused on, some of
it was very disturbing to them and some of it was, they didn’t really want to see it but it was too late.” Many visitors were unaware of O’Hara and her work until arriving at the show. “People came in there not knowing me. The opening was held during what they call AHA! Night, which is the art history and architecture night in New Bedford. There are people roaming the streets that came off the street. I think it has been a surprise to people, some people for sure.”
O’Hara hopes to take it on the road, showing it at university galleries and small museums. In the meantime, she’s working on a new series. “I just want to do it bit differently In my painting, I try to paint in a way that you’re enticed into it, and you’re almost in it before you realize what you’re absorbing.
visually, which is, kind of “a stranger in a strange land” concept of putting animals in a strange context to help you view them differently, so you’re not numbed out, seeing a typical animal in a certain situation. I put it in an unusual situation, and, hopefully there’s a commentary on what goes on with that animal often focusing on a feeling of their vulnerability in life.” She talked about how oblivious we can be to things occurring in our immediate environments. “That’s another thing that interests me is how, and I use the bubble as a metaphor very often for this, there’s just all these different things going on in life and they just float by each other and they’re really oblivious to each other. And I’m playing with that theme.”
She utilizes her art to, in a sense, sneak up on people’s consciousness. “I really believe in the arts, especially painting for me, as a great way to communicate these difficult issues. I feel like, often information as it’s put out in a brochure
or whatnot about what goes on, it’s very easy for people to just say, ‘No, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t see that, I can’t deal with it.’ In my painting, I try to paint in a way that you’re enticed into it, and you’re almost in it before you realize what you’re absorbing. I find that visual art has that ability to subliminally enter before you’ve had a chance to put up your defenses.” Apparently, in State of the Union series, she’s succeeded.
