Diva
January 2, 2017
Mary Jane Bigler, a familiar name in the Metro-Detroit area and in the Michigan Water Color Society, was well-known for her water color painting and her work as a Wayne State faculty member. Her work was mainly landscapes and still lives although she did give herself a lot of room to explore other content and mediums, such as doing collage work. More than a technician, Bigler was remembered for using paint as a medium to self-discovery and encouraged her students to do the same.
In a newspaper article written about Bigler, a writer compared the medium of photography to the medium of painting. They asked, "How often do you see a good still life of flowers?" making the point that Bigler brought something beyond the content of the objects in her paintings, she gave life to subjects that are typically seen as cliché' and overdone.
In Diva, Bigler steps out of her typical techniques and explores bold color and texture, through combining her traditional use of watercolor and collage. In the center of the composition is a woman photographed in black and white, surrounded by a sea of bright oranges, yellows, and pinks. As a viewer, the color of this piece is immediately striking, yet the longer you look at it, the diva becomes more and more mysterious.
Text by Emily Lane Borden