Phantomwise, from the Alice Cycle

Artist / Maker Mary Kline-Misol ((American, b. 1952))

Date1990-1995

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions70 x 50 in. (177.8 x 127 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Dr. Marshall and Judy Flapan. In the Permanent Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2008.551

Status

On view

Collections

Label TextSince 1983, Mary Kline-Misol has painted portraits based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. "Kline-Misol's Alice imagery draws the viewer into a fantasy world at the edge of dream," wrote Albuquerque Journal art critic Wesley Pulkka, comparing her to the 19th century symbolists and the 20th century Nabis, Bonnard, and Vuillard. Almost every critic writing about her work has found it similarly complex and beguiling. Kline-Misol set her Alice cycle apart from others by basing her heroine in reality. Her Alice was modeled on Lewis Carroll's real-life family friend Alice Liddell, a black-haired child who looked utterly unlike the Disney blonde usually associated with the character. "Throughout the course of these Alice compositions I have borrowed the Carrollian story elements involving nostalgia, a love of childhood vision, and the use of parody or satire. Alice is always at the center of the story encountering fools, mystics, and perhaps some of her own demons. I do not attempt to simply dramatize the stories and often I find myself recreating episodes and characters in my own visual language and representation. The unreality of the tales has a wild familiarity. We have all had encounters with the absurd. The dreamlike shifts of place and time find Alice in situations where she, like some young adept, seeks the path of individuation. The journey takes the young girl into curiouser and curiouser encounters within the dream from which she ultimately awakes." -Mary Kline-Misol There have been too many evaluations of the stories and of Carroll. I have avoided all of those articles. I feel it would only interfere with whatever psychic connection I may have with Alice. Therefore do not decipher the images, just simply experience them. They are there for that. -Mary Kline-Misol (The following from "Subject to Change" exhibit) Mary Kline Misol (American, b. 1952) Aspects of Alice, From the Alice in Wonderland Series, 1990-1995 Oil on linen canvas Gift of Dr. Marshall and Judy Flapan. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. UM2008.551 As Alice progresses through the dream world of Wonderland, the understanding of her world grows and changes. Throughout the story, Alice develops a sense of self-awareness, self-discovery, and self-reflection. As people grow and develop, their understanding of spirituality and religion may evolve. Exploring spirituality can also lead to the exploration of self.

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