Charmagne Coe “Embark”

Note: I write a monthly column in FlagLive. The column is a personal essay on a single work of art that catches my eye. This is the article published in FlagLive on Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

Charmagne Coe, "Embark"

Two lovers embrace. They move forward together, with flowers and color bursting all around them. Above them, sticky pink circles float like giant bubblegum balloons bounding upwards. A fireworks explosion of confetti seems to celebrate the magic of their love. At first glance, this is a joyous scene of two lovers who are reveling in the beauty of their path together.


But there is something dark in the center of the work. A black cloud of electricity hovers at the shoulders and head of the man. Closer inspection reveals that some of the ‘confetti’ is black. Something deeper is at play here. While the painting as a whole portrays more brightness and color than it does darkness, the central placement of this cloud brings me to hone in on its symbolism (this probably says more about me than the painting itself, but that should come as no surprise).


Coe does not portray a sense of foreboding, nor does she foreshadow a dangerous path for these lovers. The darkness lies behind the figures. This is not a path that leads to trouble; this is a path they walk as they carry their pain.


The darkness ever so subtly surrounds the couple’s bodies down to their feet, as their steps break into the glow of the flowery path that lays before them. A turkey looks on, perhaps as a symbol of the wild animal instinct within us all. To the right, gray stones lead into the dark cloud… as if to say that our darkness also emanates from something beyond us, something deeper that we do not have the capacity to fully know.


The dark cracked center of Embark speaks to the baggage we all carry with us into relationships. No one enters from a state of innocence. We harbor pain, judgment, and the ever powerful stain of experience. It is with us even as we enter into hopeful journeys.


It’s subtle, but the man has a look of sadness on his face. Some of the black electricity cracks away at his upper body. With her own darkness staining her legs and wheeled feet, the woman looks hopeful but knowing. She does not join with this man blind to the challenges they face. Their gaze hints at a powerful resolve.


"Embark" does not simply ask us to watch two lovers as they enter into a pure space of connectivity or marriage. This is not Valentine’s Day. Love does not ‘cure’ our troubles, but it must accept them. The burdens we carry – from our pasts and the realities of daily life – are very real parts of the lives we lead and the love we share. Our darkness is essential to our humanity and comes with us wherever we go. This truth does not stain our love; nor does the darkness spoil this remarkable work of art. Rather, it makes the colors brighter and the embrace all the more glorious.

Cheers,
JT