Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer

• Audio description of "A Visit from a Friend" by Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer

  
  

  Audio description of "A Visit from a Friend" by Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer, an artist-in-residence at Acadia in 2018.
  Audio Transcript

  This piece is a shadow box made of wood, Japanese paper, acrylic paint, and copper sheeting. The central focus is a colorful bird known as a flicker in the upper left corner.

  The display space in the box interior is 15 by 9 inches and about two inches deep. The outermost edge of the dark frame, about 22 by 17-inches, is cut to represent silhouettes of a dense, pointy conifer forest tree line.

  Inside are additional layers of forest tree line in silhouette. Tucked between them is a corner of torn white paper to represent a low-lying cloud bank. Behind it all is a brushed turquoise painted sky with white clouds hanging in the right portion of the sky.

  In high focus, a flicker is painted in intricate detail: white body, black tail, with a white, black, grey and red head facing to the right. Large buckskin-colored wings spread downward in flight. The bird is delicately lined with a thin edge of copper sheeting, giving it a glowing copper halo as light touches the piece.

"A Visit from a Friend," 18" x 23", acrylic on wood, Japanese paper, copper

Photo courtesy of Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer. Used with permission.

"A Visit from a Friend" refers to the belief among some Native American people that to hear a flicker call signifies that you'll receive a visitor soon. The flicker is associated with friendship and happiness. I enjoyed seeing one fly above the dark conifer forests of Acadia.

Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer

Most of Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer's work looks at animals and our human relationships with animals. Her pieces often illustrate folktales or beliefs from different cultures around the world as she examines the human experience with the natural world. Her work also focuses on climate change and especially on the effects of it on animals other than ourselves. Her graduate degree in Folklore from University College Cork, Ireland and certificate in bookbinding from the North Bennet Street School in Boston provide the background for her interest and skills in her artform. Her work can be viewed on her website, www.jfinnegantopitzer.com.

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