The Collector by Damon Pla

art in a genre suggesting surrealism.What, no head or face on the woman?A bird in a cage, books under the dress!How can we understand the intent and impact of this complex and perhaps vexing piece?The cover artist this month, Damon Pla, is based in Southern Delaware where much of his work features landscapes, capturing the beauty of the Delmarva Peninsula, particularly its lush golden light on coastal glades and ponds.A significant body of his work, however, focuses otherwise on paintings with a very different approach reflecting his keen observations of the natural beauty of this region and his wonderment about it.Pla describes The Collector as being about himself, a selfportrait showing us how he observes the natural world and its evolution over time.He is someone who pulls over when driving and seeing a vibrant sunset, wondering why everybody does not do likewise to relish the fleeting beauty of the light and its reflections.Pla notes that the woman in The Collector is, like him, studying nature.The shadows, the detailed reflections of movement on the water, and the time of day are all parts of what she takes in.The origami bird represents art based on nature.The woman collects this as part of her connection with the natural world.Books are knowledge and integrated within her.The tree has a missing section of its trunk, evoking change and disruptions in the environment, some natural and some accelerated by global warming, development, and other human interferences.Some may wonder why the figure has no head or face (I did).Pla notes that if the figure had a face, it would become like a portrait, and her facial depiction and expressions would alter our impressions of the painting.She is present, but it remains for us to step into her world, her dress and position.This prompts our own interpretations of the scene, independent of what we might project or how we might identify with her if she had a face.