A Ghost Ship is a mythical vessel with no living captain or crew aboard, like the Flying Dutchman that can never make port and is doomed to sail the oceans forever, emitting a ghostly light.
In the current context, there are many artists these days whose exhibits have been shuttered either just after opening, or have not even had openings, or have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely because of the Corona pandemic. Some of these shows are retrospectives representing decades of life achievement in the arts, and it has seemed so unfair that viewers can’t see them, though they may be up on the walls in empty spaces. They glow with the love of the artists who made the work and the support of the galleries and institutions that believe in them. A real glow, nothing ghostly at all, really.
So the Ghost Ship Series is my attempt to somehow remedy this situation. I welcome any artists who have found themselves in this predicament to contact me and talk about Zooming a Ghost Ship recording. We talk about a half dozen works in detail, and the artists get a chance to explain process, antecedents, futures.
So far, I’ve visited with Hilary Irons, Alan Fishman, David Estey, and Barbara Sullivan. You can view some of these at the following links available through YouTube and on the Waterfall Arts website.
Image at top: Albert Pinkham Ryder, Flying Dutchman, oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard, completed by 1887, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC.