Description
‘Energy’ by Angela Ramones
Artist: Angela Ramones
Title: ‘Energy’
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 8″ x 8″
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2024
About the Artwork:
“The title is a bit self explanatory, as the painting is meant to visually demonstrate the kind of energy I wish to embody. The figure in the top left corner is looking up as if they are falling, but the dogs coming out of their hair seem determined and poised forward. I hope that even when I am lost or feel powerless that some part of my subconscious or spirit will guide me to a place of stability. The dog on the left is a hyena, and represents feminine energy, while the dog on the right is a wolf and represents masculine energy. I’m really attached to hyenas as they have been misunderstood throughout history and have been used as a negative symbol for homosexuality and being transgender, as they were thought to be hermaphrodites for a long time. Later on the discovery that female hyenas were the alphas of their packs was used to demonize them as well. There’s a lot of text on the hyena and its symbolism, even Aristotle is quoted talking about the hyena, so I encourage people to look into it and the biological facts about this creature because of its long and interesting history. Finally, the hyena has a high chance of dying while giving birth, and the cubs also have about a 60% chance of dying during that process, which gives them an even more tragic backstory but adds to their resilience as a species and even symbolizes the sacrifice of motherhood. In a lecture by Alan Watts, he describes angels to be always laughing instead of always worshipping God as people tend to imagine, or rather that worshipping God could be akin to always laughing. A hyena’s “laugh” makes me think of that description and reminds me to not be so fearful of life. As for the wolf, the reason it symbolizes masculinity to me is because as a child I remember many of my male friends saying they would want to be a wolf if they were an animal and I thought it was funny they all had the same idea. It reminds me of a time where I could have male friends without worrying about if they viewed me as “one of the guys” or as a girl to hit on, and I miss those innocent times. The flowers represent my desire to be graceful in all aspects of my life, being graceful physically through dance, graceful through my art, giving grace to the people around me, etc. ” – Angela Ramones
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
I’m Angela Ramones (X_Lagrima), an illustrator and fine artist exploring my inner worlds and how I navigate them through imagery inspired by religious iconography and the media and video games I grew up with.