Wendy Stegall

Ten New Songs (A tribute to Leonard Cohen)

As the tall white canvases filled my studio I saw there were ten and they felt like songs.  Cohen’s album of 2001 was, as usual, full of mystery, sensuality, spirit and longing.  Over the years, the music and backgrounds became fuller, while the lyrics and feel became lighter and more humorous even as his biting commentaries continued and reflected profound awareness of the world and his own search for inner freedom.  

So then I thought about the songs from that album and even though I don’t usually name my paintings in a way that calls out specific emotions or objects, it was tempting to see if some of my favorite lines would resonate with the many feelings, images, stories and passions that accompanied the painting journeys.  Some of the pieces are titled after the song; some just have lyrics from the above (or other) album.  

Leonard Cohen sometimes wrote 60 pages to get one song. That’s why every line had punch.  A painter hopes each shape contributes to the whole in that same way.  I am driven first by color, all the other loves show up one by one – pattern, mess, layers and the space between shapes.  

His music reflects, for me, the most important aspect of living in a human body: meeting yourself exactly where you are, emotionally, mentally, physical, spiritually.    That means fully acknowledging the feelings, in the body, without analysis or judgment (eventually) and then allowing them to transmute.

 Leonard’s lyrics and their perfect synchronicity with the tune (iambic pentameter so well suited for that), were a direct confrontation with his own obsession with women and his spiritual hunger.  The honesty of the words are transformative in and of themselves.  And there is so much beauty in the depth of feeling and the metaphoric imagery.