Black-and-white Thinking

a black-and-white panda that’s half white-and-black holding a clapperboard upside, art about all-or-nothing thinking — Gwenn Seemel
*Black-and-white Thinking*
2022
acrylic on panel
12 x 9 inches

How is the panda feeling? What is it saying to you? Why is it holding a clapperboard upside down?

Sometimes the idea that other people are just as complex as me feels like too much. When I’m overwhelmed, it’s often easier to decide that someone is all good or all bad rather than working to parse the intricacies of who they are.

I wonder: what would it be like to actually call “cut” so I didn’t have to finish the scene? When has denying the complexities of others worked out for you? When has it made things more difficult?

You can see the making of Black-and-white Thinking.