Black and White Etchings
The subject of the faun or satyr in many of my works, including the etchings on this page and in the House of Cards Suite, was first inspired by seeing and sketching the adjacent terra cotta self portrait of Paul Gauguin in the Chicago Art Institute. The work is now know to be a Shaun Greenhalgh forgery of the original Gauguin.
I was amused by the humor and self-deprecation of the artist representing himself as the "faun" from ancient Greek mythology. My curiosity in this faun was based in my interest in Mediterranean cultures and of the half human, half animal 's corporeal connection to the forest, animal spirits, its detatchment from social conformity and its seeming inability to seek higher levels of spirituality; a truly earth bound minor deity . I was also interested in its mischievous nature but not the devious sexuality most commonly represented in Greco-Roman art or in contemporary mindsets.
Consequently, it became the model for the "Everyman" in my House of Cards Suite. "The everyman character is constructed so that the audience can imagine themselves in the same situation without having to possess knowledge, skills, or abilities that transcend human potential." (Wikipedia)
Humorously for me, the faun is the most unlikely social critic.