Wednesday, January 13, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
BENNETT: Artist has
created series of
masked portraits
Continued from page 3
the portraits and post them
to Facebook, where they
continued to get positive
response and build interest.
Bennett always gets a per-
son9s permission to take their
photo with his cellphone, and
after showing examples of
the monotypes, they usually
agree.
<It9s become fun, and
when I saw anyone who had
a different kind of mask, or
hairstyle, or who was doing
something where I could
include some elements of
their work 4 whether in an
auto shop or a bicycle repair
shop 4 I incorporated that,=
he said.
Thus, he has portrayed his
doctor, May Fan, in her mask
alongside a figure of a 17th
Century plague doctor with
his beaked mask, the beak
that was filled with fragrant
herbs to filter out the smell
of death while protecting the
all-important doctor; and his
dental hygienist, Melissa,
swathed in a halo of PPE.
<Every new piece gives
me ideas for the next one,=
he said.
He has introduced ele-
ments like wind blowing
through the hair, water in
the splash pad, flames of
wildfire, and hands raised
in gratitude by a couple who
narrowly escaped from their
home in McKenzie Bridge.
Animals joined their owners
in several portraits: Kimry
with her horse, Dhiaa; Hattie
with her sister9s chickens;
Steve with his penguins;
Danae with her sheep.
Each portrait led to
another, then another, and
by the time Paul had made
20, people began to suggest
that he should do 40. At that
point, the idea of publishing
the collection in book form
seemed quite possible. There
are 88 portraits in the book,
but he9s up to a hundred
monotypes and still creating.
Paul has started a
Kickstarter campaign for
this new book, <Pandemic
Portraits.= You can support
Paul9s Kickstarter campaign
at www.kck.st/2KQTGfA
(see sidebar).
<Most of the people I
interviewed started tell-
ing me how their lives had
changed during the pan-
demic, and that became as
much the subject of the book
as the portraits,= he said.
The portraits and text,
together became the story
of Sisters, a microcosm of a
small community and how
we9ve been affected by the
pandemic. <I9ve tried to
show visually and in story as
many different angles as pos-
sible,= he said.
Asked if any of his sub-
jects objected to the masks,
he nodded. One gentleman
complained that he9s being
Our searching can
be a very healthy thing.
I know that for me,
this has been the most
creative time of my life.
— Paul Alan Bennett
<forced= to wear a mask
in order to do his job. Not
everyone appreciates the
principle of masking up dur-
ing this time. On the other
hand, another subject told
how she9s made and sold
thousands of masks, raising
enough money for a down
payment on a home.
The idea of <Pandemic
Portraits= is in no way
designed to minimize the
severity of the novel coro-
navirus, or its effects on
individuals and society as a
whole.
<We hear tragic stories
every day, so this is a dif-
ferent take, from an artis-
tic point of view. I hope
there9s some optimism in
these images,= Bennett
said. <While this book is
quite specific to Sisters, it9s
quite universal in its story,
because this is happening
in every community around
the world. I9m not trying to
paint a bleak, depressing por-
trait of what9s going on. I9m
trying to show a variety of
options as to how people are
dealing with these times, and
there9s tragedy and comedy
combined.=
Bennett said that rather
than becoming overwhelmed
or depressed, many artists
have used these times to
become more expressive.
The news, he said, becomes
fodder for the imagina-
tion. He genuinely feels that
whether it9s poetry, song,
or visual arts, there will be
great creativity as a result of
this time, some of which we
won9t know for a while.
<Our searching can be a
very healthy thing,= he said.
<I know that for me, this has
been the most creative time
of my life.=
‘Pandemic Portraits’ at a glance
What are the pandemic
portraits?
Each of the portraits is
a monotype, (mono mean-
ing one). Paul Alan Bennett
created all of the Pandemic
Portraits as monotypes on
the presses at Studio 6000 in
Sisters.
<Having the print stu-
dio, Studio 6000, here in
Sisters is a great asset to the
arts community of Sisters,=
Bennett said. <It9s a mem-
bers9 workshop space, not a
retail space. Once the pan-
demic is over, Studio 6000
will have special events that
will be more open to the
public.=
The 96-page book,
<Pandemic Portraits,=
includes 88 of the monotype
images, but Bennett contin-
ued to create others since the
book was sent to the pub-
lisher for printing.
How can I get a copy of
Pandemic Portraits?
The best way to get a
copy of Paul Alan Bennett9s
forthcoming book, Pandemic
Portraits, is to support his
Kickstarter campaign online
at www.kck.st/2KQTGfA.
The campaign has a
deadline of February 4, with
a goal of $12,000.
Bennett9s Kickstarter
campaign offers several
donation options, and most
options include at least one
copy of the book. One of the
options, at $350, will enable
the donor to purchase a print,
or their original monotype if
it9s one that he has included
in the book. At higher
amounts, you can even
commission a monotype
of yourself or a loved one.
Also on Kickstarter, you
can view a video of Bennett
explaining his creative pro-
cess, and a sampling of some
of the portraits.
Why Kickstarter?
Bennett says, <I need
your help with funding.
The financial risk is always
the biggie. That is why I9m
running this Kickstarter
campaign. It just takes a
big chunk of cash to get a
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“Pandemic Portraits” is a 96-page
book including 88 monotype
portraits of people wearing their
COVID-19 masks.
project like this done. The
funds are needed for the fol-
lowing: printing and ship-
ping costs, internet advertis-
ing, layout and design work,
video, postcards, paper and
envelopes, and framing. I
learned a lot from my first
book, <Night Skies.=
<Mainly, such a proj-
ect takes a lot of time and
energy but, once finished, it
can feel quite satisfying. The
Pandemic Portraits book is a
very different kind of book
for me. It feels like some-
thing I9m being called to do.
Perhaps it will offer some
badly needed healing for
these times.=
W h e re c a n I s e e
Paul Bennett9s original
monotypes?
Most of the collection
of original monotypes will
be displayed in February,
floor to ceiling, on the west
wall of Good Day Café,
at Bedouin at 143 E. Hood
Ave. and at Sisters Gallery
and Frame Shop, 252 W.
Hood Ave. The monotypes
will be for sale, with the
entire purchase price going
toward funding the book.
When will the book be
available?
Unlike Bennett9s previ-
ous book, Night Skies, this
book will be printed in the
USA, so he won9t have to
wait two months or more
to receive them. It will be
six-by-nine inches, and
soft-cover, but with twice as
many illustrations and twice
as many pages as Night
Skies. The inside front and
back covers unfold to reveal
the entire collection of
images included in the book.
Printing, binding, and ship-
ping all take time, but this
book will be available soon.
A partnership
beyond
expectations
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