“Finally! Valentine’s Day is over,” You say. Time to eat the rest of the discounted chocolates you bought from Target and pretend that your single status on Facebook doesn’t bother you. You’re still trying to forget all the sappy Instagram posts that plagued you all twenty-four hours of the 14th (and even some on the 15th because Instagram’s algorithm is a mess.) Don’t worry, you are not alone. We hate love too!

 

 

If You Come Any Closer I’ll Kill You,
Judie Bamber,
Oil on canvas, 1987.
2005.8.1a-b

 

The Escalette Collection features several pieces that celebrate the art of hating love. Feeling particularly hateful toward your ex who won’t stop sliding in your dms? Then If You Come Any Closer I’ll Kill You, by Judie Bamber, is the piece for you. Drop Chad a link to that and he won’t know what hit him. Partly because Chad doesn’t “get modern art,” but mostly because he’ll be intimidated by the vague yet menacing aura Bamber creates in her paintings.

 

Scholar’s Rock III,
Keiko Fukazawa,
Earthenware, glaze, wooden stand, 2009.
2019.6.1

 

Walking into any CVS store is a nightmare this time of year; Valentine’s teddy bears leer at you from the holiday section, their empty eyes haunt you, outstretched arms holding red hearts mock you. “Will anyone give you a teddy bear this year?” They ask with their empty eyes, the aisle looms before you, there are bears upon bears demanding answers from you like your extended family on Thanksgiving. The urge to destroy wells up in you, but you can’t vandalize a shelf of seemingly innocent teddy bears in public without getting arrested. Luckily, Keiko Fukazawa has participated in this destruction for you in her ceramic piece Scholar’s Rock III, creating an orange conglomeration of beanie babies in imitation of the Chinese Scholar’s Rock. That will put those bears in their place.

 

Study for Briar Rose,
Carole Caroompas,
Whiter pencil on paper, 1989.
2007.4.2

 

Our final celebration of hate is the gothic styled Study for Briar Rose by Carole Caroompas.  This drawing is perhaps a reference to the Grimm fairytale “Briar Rose,” as well as the dead romance in your life. The intertwining roses remind you of the dozens of bouquets all your friends received from their significant others this Valentine’s Day that are now wilting in their vases, turning the water into a soup of decaying petals. This piece serves as a feminist analysis of gender roles, which you can reference to make yourself feel better about being single. “I don’t care about a significant other! I am enough on my own!” You declare. Love is fickle anyway, just like the roses. We wholeheartedly agree. Love is dead, so love yourself.

 

To learn more about the Escalette Collection or to request a tour visit E-museum: https://wilkinsonartcollections.chapman.edu/collections

About the Author: Jordyn Sapp is a freshman Creative Writing major. She sees art as a way for a community to share emotions and ideas. She joined Art Ambassador program to bring art to the Chapman community and she believes that she brings a fresh new perspective to the Escalette collection.