Kelly Gorman is currently
enrolled as a painting major at the Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta,
Georgia.
Artist's Statement
Though I will never forget the
technically realistic pieces of art I've created in training to
observe the outside world, I know that my true calling comes from the
inner world., the world of dreams. Dreams hold the key to an unending
source of information to use in creating art. They describe the
situations and emotions that we all experience in life, and possess
symbols and metaphors of life that we can all relate to. If people pay
attention to their dreams they can gather an understanding of
themselves, others, and possibly their true purpose in life.
"Museum Dream"
The idea for the painting titled
"Museum Dream" originated from a dream I experienced the
night of April 8th, 2001. The main figure of a man in the red room is
explaining to me that although my dreams may produce fear, they can
also be an important open source of creativity. The dream began with a
horrifying experience in which a group of piranha skeletons surround a
frightened woman standing upon an island and I am told "You
produced these and they can come back now...." The next part of
the dream is what I created the painting from. It features a figure in
a gallery holding a glass. His hand is up to introduce to me the
silver/metal sculpture of a hare with its lungs exposed (human-sized).
At this instant I am told "It's okay...look at this." It's
telling me that creativity can emerge out of fear and to not be afraid
of it.
"The Painted Man in Every
Room"
This painting arose out of a dream I experienced the night of
October 19th, 2001. During this dream I was aware that I was in my
"other world," my "subconscious world." The dream
began with me entering a hallway in my where an older woman led me
around. I kicked open a couple of closed doors in this hallway and my
painting, "The Painted Man in Every Room" is the image I
saw. It featured thick white splatters over the top portion of the
male's sleeping body (with no shirt) and the bottom is almost like
crayon with a mixture of colors. There was also loud music blasting
within all these rooms. As soon as I saw this image in my dream I knew
I was meant to paint it. As I continued down this hallway I found only
one room with a man in it that I could talk to. He answered the door
and I begged him to let me in to see his sculptures. Instead, I talked
to him about being in my "other world" right now. I remember
seeing flashes of his sculptures. They were abstracted shapes in
primary colors.
