Truth to Power

Being in the Zoom Room with Keynote Speaker, Dr. Christopher Emdin for Lincoln Center Activate was electrifying. He was animated and inspiring. His passion was contagious and also fun to watch!

In March 2020, life changed.

Regulations went up, and venues shut down. The greatest hardship—most would agree—was being separated from loved ones, friends, and colleagues. We all scrambled to adjust to our new circumstances.

I remember first “meeting” with my staff in March using a video conferencing app called Zoom. I never suspected that Zoom would become an integral part of my life, and really, everyone’s lives.

We were now seeing each other within the borders of a solid black frame. The experience was detached, yet intimate. It was strange and funny how people presented themselves, their expressions, and settings—what was on their walls and who else was in the room (knowingly and unknowingly). Admittedly, I enjoyed being a voyeur.

And that was it. The idea popped into my head to take screenshots and do paintings from these virtual moments. I was working through my own complicated feelings about what was happening in the world, and I began to feel excited to tell a story—my story and other people’s stories.

Finding myself multiple times daily on Zoom became a treasure hunt. I was peering into those Hollywood squares on a quest for the interesting story. I painted myself first, a strangely stiff, unsatisfactory self-portrait. But once I started painting everyone else…well, that’s when I began to really have fun.