“Quiet City” by PJ Bergin, 2020

I’m writing this on Earth Day. Over the past few weeks, references to the first Earth Day 50 years ago point to how far we’ve come and how we far we still need to go to make significant improvements to the environment and people’s attitudes towards it.

This April has been a poignant crossroads for all of us. What choices will we make in the year to come? What will Earth Day look like in 2021? Will the pandemic of 2020 really change our mindset, habits, and how we act towards one another and the planet we share?

For me, living on the main street of a small town of 5,000 people, the effect of the governor’s “Stay Home” order was significant. The street below the studio windows has been eerily quiet. Usually it’s buzzing with people walking up and down the sidewalk and in cars checking out storefronts and looking for a parking spot. This month all the stores were closed with signs posted on the front doors. Some of the restaurants were open with limited hours. It’s been sad and scary knowing the number of people in town who aren’t working, and not by choice.

I created “Quiet City” during this time of living in a void. Lately it feels like time is suspended, with each day floating into the next. Only recently did I realize how much the activity on the street below subconsciously affects the outcome of my artwork. Only after “Quiet City” was hung in the small gallery next to the studio did I see how different the quiet strength and resolve this artwork exudes is from the exuberant energy that is typical of my work. It reflects my feelings for how to make the best of the situation at hand for myself and my community.

Making art is an expression of inner feelings. Sometime these thoughts aren’t apparent to the artist until they’re released in the artwork. I’m thankful I found this way of expressing myself and sharing it with others.

I wish all of you good health as we navigate through the next months together finding our new normal.

Best wishes,
PJ