THE Signature

For years I have signed my name on the back of the work, or down the side, or even discreetly hidden in the corner. When questioned about this practice, I argued that I wanted the work to be the full picture, not interrupted by the ego of a name placed where the viewer is experiencing. I have tried to make my name as demure or invisible as I could.., until yesterday.

A fellow artist came to talk about our upcoming show together, and she prodded. "Why are you not signing your name on the front of the work, Nell?" I found I didn't really have a good answer.

This unwillingness to dedicate my name across the bottom of a piece is a bit of learned invisibility, and upon thinking about it, my male colleagues don't seem to have this issue at all. I mean, JonOne literally signs his name across the canvas as the texture of the work, again and again, until the canvas is filled. As a 48 year old person in the world, I think it is time to stand behind my name in a larger way. To go for this claiming of the bottom right corner of my work, which I am so proud to present as a finished piece: in color, texture, and now signed glory.