by Jeff Musser
There is a unique way that sunlight hits the pavement under a freeway overpass. Or maybe it just appears unique to my eyes. Walking under a multi-lane freeway is a bit like walking through a tunnel. The atmosphere is dark, so your eyes have to adjust to the momentary change in light. But unlike a tunnel, a freeway overpass has gaps. I first saw Angela when I was walking underneath one of those gaps. As I was walking toward her, the light from above was illuminating her face in the way you see here. The moment was so striking I asked if I could take her picture. She was hesitant, but I told her I was an artist and that she had a nice face. She laughed and agreed to let me take her picture. After I took my third photo, an angry voice from across the street yelled, ‘Angela!’ She immediately looked down at the ground and whispered, ‘I’m sorry, I have to go.’ The man she ran to pushed her inside of a tent and angrily kicked a liter of Dad’s Root Beer towards me. I only saw her in my neighborhood a handful of times after our first encounter. Sometimes she would say ‘hello’ with a smile or a wave. Other times I could sense that acknowledging me would bring her unwanted aggression or harm from the men surrounding her. I think about her every time I walk under that particular freeway. I wonder if she would enjoy that painting I made of her.
My first job after graduating from The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago was designing Happy Meals for a now defunct ad agency in Chicago. The job paid well, but I was artistically miserable. I learned very quickly that I could not be creative for someone else during the day and keep my painting practice going at night. Something had to give. So when the rumor of layoffs within the agency started to circulate, I greeted the gossip with hope. When the layoffs became reality, I was suddenly free to pursue my love of painting. On the downside I now had to deal with issues of surviving, and how to overcome the much-romanticized notion of a starving artist. My painting style has changed dramatically over the years, but my love for portraiture and narrative figurative painting has always been at the heart of my practice.
Angela by Jeff Musser
http://www.jeffmusser.com
