Oakland Drops Beats - Ruth G. Alden: Intermedia Visual Artist

Artist Statement:

Ruth Gilford Alden

            I am a selector of imagery.  My works are collected fragments, united into wholeness.  The Book of Ruth, in The Old Testament, conveys the story of a gleaner… Ruth finds use in what’s been discarded by others, sustaining herself and her family with what’s been left behind.  In my early teens I was introduced to collage-assemblage art; I have been saving scraps of paper-imagery ever since.  Combining seemingly disparate images allows me to outwardly express the language of my inner landscape. 

In college I studied art as therapeutic process.  I create collage for myself, to heal and release energy that otherwise would remain trapped inside. 

Some have described my work as a visual poetic language.  It is my hope that this work speaks to those who view it, and yet I have no expectation of the viewer’s interpretation.  One can be fluent only in one’s own inner language. 

Reflecting on my creative work, the unique cognitive experience of the viewer, the witness, fascinates me.  The experience provoked in the mind of the viewer expands my understanding of the pieces I have brought forth. 

Much of the imagery I select speaks to my own lingering childhood memories.  Imagery from children’s stories of fantasy and adventure remain deeply imprinted in my mind.  I am continuously captivated by tales of female heroines, following their own yellow-brick-roads to Emerald Cities filled with illusion.

It is my hope that these assembled images will communicate to viewers, evoking echoes of the world beyond the veils of everyday perception.

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