Divine Computation | Kate Parnell

Divine Computation, 18x24”

acrylic on vintage cork-backed poster 

Artist Kate Parnell began her project Garfield From Memory on 2/24/19. It started originally as a daily drawing of Garfield (from memory), a self-imposed yearlong assignment which helped her to move through an artistic drought. She originally found Garfield to be a freeing choice, because she had little personal attachment to the widely popular character, and the “from memory” aspect of the assignment meant there was technically no way to make a wrong move. As she began posting the drawings on her instagram account, the surprising response allowed her to devote herself full-time to her art, and transformed a project that had been a utilitarian personal undertaking into something larger, dealing with the deep relationships that her viewers had formed with this cartoon character. 

Seven years on, Garfield From Memory has become not just a mode of artistic production but also an experiment in artistic process. Is it possible to make a body of meaningful work around an arbitrary subject? Can one lay claim to a copywritten character? Parnell began using vintage art and thrift store decor in her paintings, the layers of cultural references stacking into lasagna-like final works that investigate not only Garfield, but pop culture, art history and our contemporary political landscape.