PORTFOLIO
Custom murals, decorative painting and art work for professional and residential spaces
FOR INFORMATION ON PURCHASES, LOANS & COMMISSIONS:
wesleyusher@lifeasmyth.com
REPRESENTATIVE MURALS
REPRESENTATIVE PAINTINGS
New works
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Burning Joan
A multi-panel visual art project which utilizes symbols, numerals, computer code, fragmented language and archetypal images to express the Feminine in the context of modern technology and Western law.
The Alchemical Triptych
An exploration in color of the mystical process of alchemy
Commission
Private collection, New York State.
AUTUMN 2008
NEW STUDIOWORK
Alchemical red
Acrylic and plaster strips on canvas
Image Size: 60 x 48"Presently on corporate loan, New York City.
To view larger image, click on painting.
AUTUMN 2008
FEATURED ARTIST FOR THE JOYFUL HEART FOUNDATION
Mariska Hargitay, Founder of The Joyful Heart Foundation. Ms. Hargitay plays Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
I started the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2002 to help survivors of sexual assault heal their minds, bodies and spirits and reclaim their lives. Playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit opened my eyes to the epidemic of sexual assault in this country. It wasn't just in the scripts for the show, but in the many emails I received from viewers disclosing their stories of sexual assault for the first time.
I felt a great responsibility to these brave women to let them know that they had been heard and that they could have hope. I studied the subject, trained to become a crisis counselor, and have used my visibility as an actress to become an advocate. The result was The Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support and encouragement for survivors of sexual assault. In creating programs for our members, we quickly realized that everyone heals differently. We provide an extensive network of resources for women and our own groundbreaking retreats that include art therapy, surf camps, swimming with dolphins in the wild, yoga and writing workshops that complement traditional counseling and therapy. When women are abused and assaulted, it is like the doors to their souls slam shut. The goal of Joyful Heart is to let the light, and the life, back in--to banish the darkness and let the healing begin. Mariska Hargitay, founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation
The Joyful Heart spotlight of Wesley Usher, the Mount Sinai Medical Center murals and the Life As Myth web site follows below.
PEOPLE GIVING BACK: WESLEY USHER
One expects certain things upon walking into an Emergency Department; beige walls, fluorescent lighting, various lifesaving equipment placed throughout. What survivors of sexual assault find at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, however, is quite different. Patients are still walking into a state-of-the-art medical facility, but one that has been completely transformed thanks to the talents of Wesley Usher, artist and advocate with The Mount Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention (SAVI) Program.
Ms. Usher, prompted by her dedication to work with survivors of sexual assault, recently coupled her compassion with her talents as an artist to complete a renovation of the exam room used in The Mount Sinai Hospital's Emergency Department used specifically for treating survivors of sexual assault. This space has now been transformed into a sanctuary filled with bamboo, moonlight and tree frogs far removed from the sterile atmosphere of a typical exam room. Research indicates that the physical environment in which medical attention is given can have a significant effect on that person's overall hospital experience, as well as their recovery. In particular, scenes depicting nature and natural settings are considered to be most beneficial. In the case of a survivor of sexual assault, the hospital experience often has implications for how they choose to proceed with the judicial process, which has significant implications in terms of prosecuting sexual offenders in our city.
For over 23 years, The Mount Sinai SAVI Program has offered free and confidential counseling services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Last year alone, SAVI was able to provide services to 553 survivors in 11 Emergency Departments in Manhattan and Queens. SAVI continually strives to provide survivors of sexual assault with the highest quality of care and this project, like many others, adds exponentially to this cause.
Notes
To learn more about the Joyful Heart Foundation, go to the home page: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org
AUTUMN 2008
WORKS IN PROGRESS: BURNING JOAN
Joan of Arc listening to the voices. Jules Bastien-LePage. 1879. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 68), American clergyman and civil rights leaderIn her early teens, Joan of Arc (1412-1431) claimed to have had visions from God which instructed her to recover France from English control. A few years later, King Charles VII sent her to the siege of Orléans and just nine days after she arrived, the siege lifted. It was her first major military victory. By the time she was seventeen, Joan was a national heroine. However, she became embroiled in the political intrigue of court and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned and sentenced as a witch and a heretic. She was burned at the stake at nineteen.
Joan of Arc burning at the stake. Artist unknown. ND.
Notes
Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-84), a French Impressionist and native of Lorraine, began studies for Joan of Arc listening to the voices in 1875. By 1879 he had completed it and the next year the Paris Salon selected it for exhibition.In this scene, Joan of Arc receives her revelation in the back garden of her parent's home. The apparitions of Saints Margaret, Catherine and Michael are visible in the upper left section of the background.The piece was Bastien-LePage's response to Lorraine's loss to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War. Measuring 100 x 100", the painting is actually two canvas panels which are joined along the right architectural line of the house.
