Thursday, May 3, 2012

Midnight in "The Garden Of The Eternal Waltz"


The now iconic image of the "Bird Girl" statue that once graced the grounds at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia was probably slated for anonymity before 1994, when a photo of the unusual grave marker was used for the cover of the best selling novel by John Berendt, "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil", which later became a movie in 1997. The statue itself, which was originally sculpted in 1936 by Sylvia Shaw Judson, was since removed and donated to a museum in Savannah.


The first time I saw the book cover, "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil", I was intrigued. I only recently seen the 1997 Clint Eastwood directed movie, starring  John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. The imagery from the book cover featuring the now infamous, "Bird Girl" statue had stuck with me for many years. Hence, my idea for this artwork was interpreted solely from that title and imagery. My story tells the lifeless statue of a beautiful young woman who transforms and comes to life only during the "fullest" of moons and meanders and dances around the garden deep into the night!