Artist: Elisabeth Ladwig
Title: A Kaleidoscope
Medium: Photo Collage on Watercolor Paper
Dimensions: Please Select
Printed on museum-grade, textured fine art paper (100% rag archival). Unframed fine art prints.
18"h x 12"w: Edition of 28
27"h x 18"w: Edition of 17
35" h x 23"w: Edition of 7
54"h x 36"w: Special Edition of 5
"Flutter. Rabble. Rainbow. Swarm. These are all names for a group of butterflies. It is also called a kaleidoscope. As a little girl, I remember being mesmerized by a kaleidoscope at the toy store. Endless colors moved in harmony, and the pieces of the puzzle were as different as they were alike, each design more beautiful than the next. I like to think of a kaleidoscope’s dance as a metaphor for the ever-changing world, and as we learn more about each other, we become more accepting of each other’s varying colors and shapes, experiences and backgrounds. It is a dance of promise and of hope that others’ kindness will be reflected in us, and ours in them. This is the mirror that comprises the gamut of emotions that makes us human. My late father-in-law, photographer John C. Goodwin, had the opportunity to travel the world with his work. He said, 'There are beautiful people everywhere you go.' "Elizabeth Ladwig
"A Kaleidoscope" presents a surrealistic scene with natural elements. At the center of the composition is a black dress exhibiting butterfly wing patterns on the inner lining. The fabric is captured mid-motion, as if being cast off, revealing the butterfly-like pattern. Above this central element, butterflies are taking flight into the sky in a dispersed formation from the position of the dress, as if emerging from it. In the background, there is a gentle landscape with a grassy field dotted with yellow flowers and a few grazing sheep along a sloping hill. A solitary tree punctuates the horizon. The color palette of the image is relatively muted, with earth tones dominating the scene and gentle contrasts which lend a dreamy, ethereal quality to the image. The overall effect of the image is one that blends reality with fantasy, evoking themes of transformation, freedom, and the act of casting off an old identity to reveal something new and beautiful. There are beautiful people everywhere you go.