This article was downloaded by: [Stony Brook University]On: 19 October 2014, At: 06:27Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Psychological Perspectives: AQuarterly Journal of JungianThoughtPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/upyp20

About the Artist: NancyRomeroNancy MozurPublished online: 08 Sep 2009.

To cite this article: Nancy Mozur (2009) About the Artist: Nancy Romero,Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought, 52:3, 279-280

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00332920903098802

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Psychological Perspectives, 52: 279–280, 2009Copyright c© C. G. Jung Institute of Los AngelesISSN: 0033-2925 print / 1556-3030 onlineDOI: 10.1080/00332920903098802

About the Artist: Nancy Romero

Nancy Mozur

U pon looking at the art of Nancy Romero, the viewer enters Eden af-ter the Fall. What was once Paradise has now become an existence in

which animals and human beings no longer live in a dreamy state. Here, aswaddled baby awaits metamorphosis, sharing the common bond of transfor-mation with the creatures bordering its cocoon. A young boy is mysteriouslytransported to unknown shores on the back of a sea turtle. A serpent wrapsitself around a human body, suggestive of either constriction or the Orphicgod Phanes, while crickets and birds converse with children in tenuous ham-mocks composed from twigs and webs.

Relationships are forged within the world that are situated betweenimagination and reality. Their presence implies partnership in life—at timesphysically equal, standing in judgment of mortal foibles while presaging whatlies ahead. In shamanism and folklore, this partnership speaks of a sacred kin-ship. Animals have functioned as spirit guides, revealing the living secrets ofnature, in addition to serving as moral teachers, exemplified through dreams,the Lord of the Ring trilogy, and the Harry Potter novels.

Within these humorous and insightful paintings, Romero melds grow-ing up in an artistic environment, visits to her family’s ranch and its exposureto wild life, with the sophistication of world travel. In addition, her love ofgardening provides a “hothouse” for her aesthetic ideas. Romero’s sensateability to observe is reflected not only through her art but in her understand-ing of technique and materials. She has studied the practice of gold leaf frommedieval illumination, learned the mixing of raw pigments for her paintings,and has begun to fabricate complex assemblages in the tradition of folk art.Add to this the fortune of studying mythology with Joseph Campbell from1965 to 1966 at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

In 1968 Romero received a grant in anthropology to do fieldwork insouthern Mexico. This opportunity initiated a creative journey in the pictorial

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280 PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES � VOLUME 52, ISSUE 3 / 2009

arts as she recorded her encounters with the Zapotec culture. Over the years,she expanded her visual observation to include the cycles of her life throughnarrative and figurative expression.

“I like to tell stories. The subject matter is suggested by personal expe-riences: marriage, childbirth, divorce, grandchildren, traveling, and growingthings, but then I make a jump into the universal plane and try to uncoverits archetypal underpinnings. It is this symbolic substratum that breathesenergy into the commonplace and allows the viewer to connect with the im-agery.”

As in any good tale, Nancy Romero leaves us enriched with the desireto see what comes next.

The artist can be contacted at nancywromero@yahoo.com.

On the front cover: Nancy Romero, Adam and Eve (detail), 2007.Oil on panel, 36′′ x 48′′. Photo: Damian Dovarganes.

On the back cover: Nancy Romero, Invasion, 2008.Oil on panel, 36′′ x 48′′. Photo: Damian Dovarganes.

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