Marilyn (Kitsch Overdose), 2021

There is much conjecture on what may have gone on in movie star Marilyn Monroe’s head given her tumultuous life from beginning to end. I discuss more details of this in the description for another piece in this series, ‘Psychological Trauma.’ Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926, started as a model and eventually attained fame and success throughout the 1950s, as one of the top Hollywood box office draws. A life wracked with uncertainty followed by the pressures of celebrity as well as other factors, did nothing, as her adulthood progressed, to underline any sense of stability and peace of mind. Rather than being a commentary on her demise by overdose of barbiturate in 1962, cutting her stellar career short, this piece ‘Kitsch Overdose’ is more of an elucidation on the overall themes and appearance of my personal work spanning the years. One thing nobody’s ever described me as is ‘subtle.’