Kevin Simonds
COVID-19 Art Challenge
Top-bottom, L-R. 4.26.20 Portrait of the Artist's Son Jorge Manuel Theotokopoulos by El Greco 1597-1603; Untitled embroidery, n.d.; 4.26.20 Self-Portrait with Physalis by Egon Schiele 1912; 4.20.20 Cheech and Chong, Up in Smoke; 5.26.20 Blue Umbrella by Alex Katz 1979; 5.6.20 Untitled (Glass on Face) by Ana Mendieta 1972; 4.25.20 Portrait of Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley 2018; 5.2.20 Ophelia by John Everett Millais 1851-1852; 5.8.20 Self-Portrait by Vivian Maier; 5.4.20 X-Man from Icons Portfolio 1990 by Keith Haring; 5.3.20 Egon Schiele self-portrait with Physalis 1912; 4.18.20 Kevin and Raquel, The Bath by Mary Cassatt 1890-91; 4.18.20 Kevin and Raquel, Woman With a Sunflower by Mary Cassatt 1905; 5.7.20 Kevin and Raquel, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; 5.1.20 The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck 1434;
5.10.20 Saint Mary Theotokos Mother of God; n.d; 5.12.20 2 Jug Band with @frau.dinkel; 5.12.20 Jug Band with @frau.dinkel; 5.13.20 Dali in the Water by Jean Dieuzaide; 5.14.20 Portrait of Johanna Staude by Gustav Klimt 1917-1918; 5.16.20 Nature Boy by Amanda Scott; 4.25.20 American Gothic by Grant Wood 1930; 5.6.20 El Greco Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli. Used coffee filters and cardboard 1597; Embroidery, My boyfriend, n.d.; 5.3.20. Ophelia by John Everett Millais 1851-1852; 5.7.20 Recycling; 5.8.20 Self-Portrait by Vivian Maier 1956; Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo 1940
Jester with a Lute by Frans Hals 1620-16255.17.20; Riding with Death by Jean-Michel Basquiat 1988 5.18.20; Aladdin 5.20.20; Meets Young Man With a Flower Behind His Ear by Paul Gauguin 1891 5.22.20; elf-Portrait with Portrait of Bernard (Les Miserables) by Paul Gauguin 1888 5.22.20; Old Woman Selling Eggs by Abraham Bloemaert and Hendrick Bloemaert 1632 5.23.20; he Cold (Girl Sick in Bed) by Norman Rockwell 1937 5.25.20; Self-Portrait by David Hockney 1954 5.27.20; Self-Portrait by Berthe Morisot 1885 5.28.20; oman with a Daffodil by Lucian Freud 1945 5.29.20; The Blues by Dang Xuan Hoa 2008 5.30.20; 6.5.20 Say His Name George Floyd; Rogers Parks March Silence is Violence 6.6.20; Rogers Park Rally 6.6.20.
"My first baby signs" circle time and Pandemic selfie.
Voted, October 24, 2020.
I have been quarantining with my roommate since the end of March. I am incredibly grateful to not be alone. I imagine that I would be struggling quite a bit if I had to do this on my own. I miss my job working in childcare. I have regular zoom meetings with the families and their infants. I will sing songs and read books to them and check in with the families and get updates. I know that they are all struggling to work from home while caring for their children. I miss having regular interactions with my kiddos and their parents. One of the things I like most about my work is being with people and having human contact. Now I am on the computer a lot and I hate it. The thing that brings me joy during these difficult times is recreating works of art and posting them on Instagram. I look forward to it every day and spend a lot of time thinking about what to do and how to do it. Once I've finished one, I am immediately thinking of what to do next. Early on in quarantine, I was doing sewing projects but posting pictures on Instagram provides some amount of virtual human interaction that I desperately crave and need. It's helping me get through and it is something my roommate and I can do together and bond over.