Sparks

My work for Diary Projects 2012 is a series of paintings called Sparks. The American therapist and Mormon youth counsellor, Beatrice Sparks, is known for producing, as editor, authentic diaries of troubled teenagers. The first nonfiction novel of this kind was Go Ask Alice, which caused a sensation and got banned in many libraries and schools all over the United States when it was published in 1971. The author, credited as 'anonymous', is a 15-year-old girl who is being plunged into the darksome worlds of drugs and sex.

Beatrice Sparks' next publication was titled Jay’s Journal by Anonymous. It details a 15-year-old boy’s journey into Satanism. Around 1978, when Jay’s Journal was published, it was revealed that editor Sparks was, in fact, the sole author of the books. The parents of 16-year-old Alden Barrett, who had committed suicide in 1973, argued that Sparks had used 25 of Barrett’s actual journal entries, and added 60 of her own. The entire occult angle was made up, which included kitten-slaying and killing a bull to feast from its blood.

It’s still unclear if Go Ask Alice is false, true or a blend of reality and fiction.

However, the success of the books spawned copies, such as the fake diary Lucy in the Sky with the identical graphic design as Alice and Jay. Beatrice Sparks continued her self-invented genre with stories about AIDS, abortion and gangsta rap.

The uncertainty of what’s real and the strange flair of fabricated teenage angst is something that influenced me when I made these paintings. The title of the series also derives from the meaning of the word, in the manner in which they are processed and in their expression.
Sparks is also a song by Kim Wilde.

Per M Stenborg 23-05-2012

SPARKS I DER STEINBRUCH
(Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, Christiane Felscherinow)
Oil and varnish on canvas
70 x 60 cm 2012

SPARKS II BLACK MATTRESS
(Jay’s Journal, Anonymous)
Oil on canvas
135 x 155 cm 2012

SPARKS III OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE
(Go ask Alice, Anonymous)
Oil and varnish on canvas
70 x 60 cm 2012

SPARKS IV KU’DAMM
(Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, Christiane Felscherinow)
Oil on canvas
20 x 100 cm 2012

SPARKS V BERGE MIT KREUZ
(Vom Gehen im Eis, Werner Herzog)
Oil on canvas
135 x 52 cm 2012

SPARKS VI WINTERLAND
(Vom Gehen im Eis, Werner Herzog)
Oil on canvas
73 x 55 cm 2012

SPARKS VII AMERICAN HOUSE
(Go ask Alice, Anonymous)
Oil and varnish on canvas
70 x 30 cm 2012

SPARKS VIII BERKELEY BY NIGHT
(Go ask Alice, Anonymous)
Oil and varnish on canvas
64 x 54 cm 2012

SPARKS IX DEAD BULL
(Jay’s Journal, Anonymous)
Oil and varnish on canvas
58 x 58 cm 2012

SPARKS X VOM GEHEN IM EIS
(Vom Gehen im Eis, Werner Herzog)
Oil on canvas
56 x 56 cm 2012

Tagebuch-Projekte 2010-2011 ist aus meinem 2009 Tagebuch-Projekt entstanden, in dem ich ein Werk für jeden Tag des Jahres gemacht habe. Als das Ende des Projekts kam, wuerde ich mehrmals gebeten, ob ich es in 2010 fortsetzen würde. Zuerst dachte ich "nein, das reicht", dann dachte ich nochmal darueber nach und habe beschlossen "ja, aber diesmal wird es anders".
Jetzt lade ich ein Künstler jeden Monat ein, etwas in diesem Monat für das Projekt zu produzieren. Es kann aus einem Stück oder aus mehreren Teilen sein - die Entscheidung ueberlass ich den Kuenstlern - und wir arbeiten zusammen, wie die Seite aussehen und funktionieren soll.
Die Werke stehen zum Verkauf zu einem Preis, den die Künstlern festgelegen. Wenn Sie ein Stück kaufen möchten kontaktieren Sie mich bitte ueber die E-Mail Adresse oben.


Heather Allen

Diary Projects 2012