Madonna without Child Print

This image is based on my love of the work of Giovanni Bellini and Giotto. I have chosen to depict a "Madonna" in what I felt would be an unconventional way, all the while trying hard to avoid the sort of standard fare ironic or kitsch sensibilities that I feel in many ways plague the modern art world. Perhaps the title feels a bit ironic, but it is more related to thoughts I had at the time about the significance of the "Madonna & Child" image. Mary is often considered a saint primarily because she is believed to be the one who bore Christ. The idea of canonizing a pregnant teen would be considered almost absurd to most people today. I felt that the conspicuous absence of a child, both in the visuals and in the title would hopefully generate some thought about the things in life we feel bring us value. I wanted to surround her with mundane, somewhat autobiographical still life elements that resonate with me on a personal level. The blue bin for instance, that acts as a bold backdrop to her legs has been with me ever since I left home to study art in Philadelphia. The plastic bag is a deliberate attempt to ballast the extramundanity of the gilded halo in the mundanity of everyday life (it is also representative of a store where I pay way too much for groceries here in NY).