John A. O'Connor discusses his series The Blackboard Variations
Since 1985 the Blackboard paintings, with reviews including The New York Times, have been the predominant form of O'Connor's art. The current exhibition offers paintings that explore music, dance, theatre and film. In contrast to the visual arts, which consist of objects that are intended to endure unchanged through time, the performing arts are transitory. Even when recorded, they can be re-experienced only in a different format."In the Blackboard Variations," says O'Connor, "I invite the viewer to enter an environment of palimpsests – ghosts of gestures, the residue of images and words linking thoughts and concepts – and to question both the concept of time and the nature of reality itself."
