No Title (July 1, 2003)
Peter Bruun
2003, 8”x8”, gesso, gouache & charcoal on paper
Finding solace after a loved one’s sudden, unexpected death.
“J. Player Crosby, 61, of 137 Jerusalem Road died Thursday of an apparent heart attack as he was flying his single-engine airplane.”
So begins The Berkshire Eagle’s obituary for Peter’s step-father.
His death on June 19, 2003, was as shocking as it was devastating. Young, fit, and in seemingly perfect health, such a fate seemed inconceivable for Player. Family and friends gathered for days, gripped by grief.
No Title (July 1, 2003), Peter Bruun, 2003, 8”x8”, gesso, gouache & charcoal on paper
In the immediate aftermath of Player’s passing, Peter found time alone each day to draw.
He ended up making nine drawings—a series of works born of anguish, marking his sadness.
No Title (July 2, 2003), Peter Bruun, 2003, 8”x8”, gesso, gouache & charcoal on paper
In the immediate aftermath of Player’s passing, Peter found time alone each day to draw.
He ended up making nine drawings—a series of works born of anguish, marking his sadness.
No Title (June 27, 2003), Peter Bruun, 2003, 8”x8”, gesso, gouache & charcoal on paper
In the immediate aftermath of Player’s passing, Peter found time alone each day to draw.
He ended up making nine drawings—a series of works born of anguish, marking his sadness.
As he drew he was influenced by a bit of art history:
A Mesoamerican burial rite in which perfect ceramic burial containers were intentionally pierced, perhaps to allow the spirit of the deceased to escape, perhaps to symbolize the uselessness of the broken vessel.
In each piece, Peter drew an idiosyncratic cerulean blue shape, its perfect roundness interrupted by a rupture—a caesura; an opening. Bits of erased charcoal marks flake the paper; gesso-white paint stands in cool contrast to the cream-colored paper’s warmth.
Caesura: an internal flaw/an artery blocked
Opening: container broken/spirit’s exit
Color: ghostly whispering white/divine heavenly blue
Through drawing, a loved one’s passing named, his soul’s release accepted.