“For the first time, I face challenge of painting with children as my theme.
I ask myself: how can I convey the reality of children suffering from diseases
or social distress without being obvious and / or pathetic? Art can’t be pathetic;
otherwise it’s not art…”
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GENOA, ITALY – Artist Natalie Saiph Massone has planned a gallery show to benefit Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide, a non-profit organization that aims to improve CF care across the globe. Her Children gallery exhibit at the Bibliotecaberio in Genoa will take place from September 2-20 from 2-6pm, Monday to Saturday.
Saiph, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Genoa, worked at the Walt Disney Company in Milan and Los Angeles, California (USA). She has since started her own studio, ArteSaiph, in Liguria, Italy. Her studio specializes in pre-production services for animation including design work, backgrounds, story boarding, color design, layouts for film, feature animation, television, and publishing of comic books and illustrated children’s books. Images of her work are available from her website, http://www.saiphworld.com/
Massone is a contributing artist to the Charitable Art Gallery run by CFW. This online gallery showcases and sells paintings to support its initiatives and promote emerging artists. CFW has also partnered with Mission Fish and eBay to raise funds using a unique online auction process that turns in-kind donations into cash. Items donated to CFW will become cash for projects in developing countries.
Massone was the first artist to donate her work to CFW, and has since played a vital role in its success. Her new series was difficult (but rewarding) for her to complete. “It’s not easy to combine what it is considered a “classical portrait” with the trends of contemporary arts. This is the reason why I decided to realize a series of portraits with children of all nationalities as I saw them... I painted what I felt looking at that particular expression and attitude - I wanted that child to be any child.”
Massone’s approach to the work encompassed contemporary artistic research and attitude. A dual component of the art show was its focus on the digital manipulation of the original painting into a twin image: its double, as if looked through a lens or the TV screen.
“We live in a Big Brother era where reality TV shows have conquered the media... society is used to seeing multiple images and many are so overwhelmed by this that it is difficult to deepen the communication with the single individual through art,” Natalie commented. “I wish the painting and its double to be a sort of mirror for the viewer’s inner self,” she said.
Noting that the organization of this event has been long and complex, the artist wishes to thank the many people who helped her make it happen. Special thanks go out to Christine Noke, CFW Program Director, the Berio Event’s Staff and Administration, and the many people who supported the project at the Regione Liguria, a co-sponsor of the event.
