A Legacy of Love
On display in our South Gallery
January 6 - January 27, 2023
Artist Statement
When I was a child, art was my saving grace; as an adult, it is the reason I became and continue to grow as an artist/researcher/teacher. Accordingly, I make work that is autobiographical, exploratory, and based deeply in process while I explore materials and concepts. I see my work as a visual connection between what I am, what my beliefs and curiosities are, where I am going, and how the path I am on intersects with the world around me. I feel deeply connected to place, people, and the complex relationships between them.
Walking through this experience and creating these paintings was an act of love. In my visual exploration of Friedl Dicker Brandeis who taught art to children while interred in the Nazi camp of Terezin outside of Prague during World War II, I found love. Brandeis had a love for art and a love for teaching, and she had a love for children that enabled her to defy the confines of the camp. When I walked where she walked, stood where she stood and taught, and viewed the artwork the children made under those circumstances, it was obvious to me that love was in the room with them. Love was at the heart of their creations. Friedl, through her experience as an artist and art teacher, saw firsthand that meaningful creative artmaking could see them through. Could lift these young people, if only for moments at a time, out of the horrific circumstances they found themselves in. These paintings are the result of my creative exploration of the extraordinary love she gave to this work. If teaching art with love and passion could do that then, it certainly can do that now.
I create art to enhance my human understanding and to find greater ways to contribute to the world as an artist/researcher/teacher through the life I live and the marks I make in creative partnerships with others. My end goal is to create honest work. At times I hope it is also considered beautiful.
Artist Bio
Linda Helmick (she, her, hers) earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Art Education at Indiana University and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Art Education at the University of Missouri in Columbia. She is an artist/researcher/teacher who grounds her work in the belief that creative expression is a basic human right that should be accessible to all. She promotes creativity as a powerful force for change, healing, and transformation. Her areas of expertise include critical creative work with underserved populations and building art education/art therapy wellness and self-care curricula to better serve those who have experienced trauma.
