Innocence (Paper Doll Series)
Artist
Valerie Parks
(American, born 1947)
Date1989
MediumOil on linen
Dimensions25 1/4 × 24 1/4 × 1 3/4 in. (64.1 × 61.6 × 4.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of John Hilberry, 2015
Object numberUAC6418
DescriptionValerie Parks has deep roots within the Detroit art community. After her graduation from Wayne State University, Parks continued to work within the area at the Detroit Institute of Arts for fifteen years. Parks taught painting and drawing within the museum's Learning and Interpretation Department, and also curated events and exhibitions for the Detroit Public School visiting program at the museum. Parks continues to work as a local painter, and has contributed to the local arts scene through her works and her artistic guidance. In 2015, Parks was one of five Visual Arts Panelists for the Kresge Artist Fellowship awarded by The Kresge Foundation, which provides support to local artists.The works of Valerie Parks all share a common thread in their repetition and congruous nature. Her works are in pursuit of balance within pattern, exploring the beauty within the rhythm. Innocence from the Paper Doll Series is one of her oil on linen works that also addresses the place of women within contemporary society. The painting features four identical figures representing the "perfect lady" in perfect proportion. However, this figure is not unique, and is duplicated in a machine-like fashion, perhaps a comment on the "perfect lady" paradigm encouraged by paper doll cutouts that still lives in society today.
Text by Catherine Milewski
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