Producing a painting that would receive attention from media outlets around the globe, as well as interest from the top international collections, was the last thing on Kate Kretz’s mind when she started work on “Blessed Art Thou.”
But Kretz, who is teaching a Winter Term fiber arts course at Elon this month, has been in high demand since her latest work was exhibited at the Art Miami art fair Jan. 5-8. “Blessed Art Thou,” an oil painting depicting actress Angelina Jolie and her two children floating on clouds above shoppers at a Wal-Mart, was seen by more than 25,000 people at the Miami fair. The Associated Press, The New York Times, NBC and CBS are just some of the more than 130 worldwide media outlets that have done stories about the painting.
Kretz has spent her career as an artist and says a series of changes in her life set her art in a new direction. She was recently married and along with her husband moved to North Carolina about a year ago.
“Up until this time, my work has come from a more inward place,” says Kretz, who taught painting at Florida International University for 10 years. “But as an artist’s life changes and significant events take place, your perspective changes, and I’ve been interested in exploring art from a more external place.”
Kretz says she doesn’t watch television and isn’t into pop culture at all, but she became fascinated with what she describes as the cycle of celebrity worship. The result is “Blessed Art Thou.”
“I started to think about how convoluted this cycle is. Do the celebrities like the attention or hate it? And are people who are buying tabloids with pictures of these celebrities simultaneously saying, ‘Isn’t it a shame they can’t take their kids anywhere or go to Disney World because of the attention?’”
While the painting has generated its share of controversy—some who don’t like it think Kretz was trying to defame the Virgin Mary—the response has been mostly positive. Kretz says the rapid fame that has come with the painting wasn’t a consideration when she started to paint “Blessed Art Thou.”
“I’ve been painting for 20 years,” says Kretz. “I’ve never focused on getting famous or getting wealthy.” She says she’s trying not to let the attention influence her future work. “The challenge is to hole up in my studio and do some reading and some sketching and see what my next project will be.”