The Predatory Pregnancy
The Predatory Pregnancy
24 x 30
2008 / #12
I painted this piece to personify a situation that I find disturbing. Small towns have many secrets. Pregnancies are sometimes hidden, sometimes not, but often a “daddy” is someplace in the picture, included in the life of the child whether willingly or not. The glorification of teen pregnancies in the world of pampered celebrities is one thing, but to purposefully get pregnant and bear a child and to then flaunt that child in public like a trophy, is something I find twisted. Such things may make the cover of a magazine on the coasts or are glorified by afternoon television programs devoted to “who’s the daddy” DNA results, but here in Midwestern America, it still raises eyebrows, or at least it should.
The two background figures represent our current youth, aware of what is going on but looking the other way, passing no judgment, seemingly immune to the situational ethics involved. Our children watch us all the time. What lessons are we teaching by our actions and not our words?
The setting has some hidden messages. The pregnant woman stands next to the first tee flag in the distance as she considers herself to be number one. The male character is boxed in by the other figures and stonewalled by his circumstances. On the table are what got him in trouble in the first place and it is not the alcohol, although that probably had something to do with it. The wife is angry. I wonder what the child will be told in the future. Will he end up on a TV show devoted to victims of predatory pregnancies?
24 x 30
2008 / #12
I painted this piece to personify a situation that I find disturbing. Small towns have many secrets. Pregnancies are sometimes hidden, sometimes not, but often a “daddy” is someplace in the picture, included in the life of the child whether willingly or not. The glorification of teen pregnancies in the world of pampered celebrities is one thing, but to purposefully get pregnant and bear a child and to then flaunt that child in public like a trophy, is something I find twisted. Such things may make the cover of a magazine on the coasts or are glorified by afternoon television programs devoted to “who’s the daddy” DNA results, but here in Midwestern America, it still raises eyebrows, or at least it should.
The two background figures represent our current youth, aware of what is going on but looking the other way, passing no judgment, seemingly immune to the situational ethics involved. Our children watch us all the time. What lessons are we teaching by our actions and not our words?
The setting has some hidden messages. The pregnant woman stands next to the first tee flag in the distance as she considers herself to be number one. The male character is boxed in by the other figures and stonewalled by his circumstances. On the table are what got him in trouble in the first place and it is not the alcohol, although that probably had something to do with it. The wife is angry. I wonder what the child will be told in the future. Will he end up on a TV show devoted to victims of predatory pregnancies?