Imitation of Life

Images: 

   Imitation of Life is a mixed media installation by Marcy McChesney which draws its inspiration from three pieces of the same name.

    First, by the performance Imitation of Life by artist, composer and activist, Diamanda Galas, referring to the thrill and pain of romantic love. Her muse is in the ancient Greek meaning of desire as an ambivalent state of being combining both the sweet and the bitter; the obsession that prevails in the face of despair.

    Secondly, Imitation of Life is the title of a 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst about two women; Bea, white and Delilah, black, struggling to survive in pre-World War I society. Their tumultuous friendship and alliance born of necessity ends tragically, despite the love they share for one another. 

   Lastly, Imitation of Life is the melancholy classic jazz standard by Earl Grant:

    What is love without forgiving? 

    With out love you’re only living

   An imitation of life 

   Skies above in flaming color

   Without love they’re so much duller.

   A false creation

   An imitation of life 

   Would the song of a lark sound half as sweet?

   Would the moon be as bright above?

   Everyday would be gray and incomplete

   without the one you love. 

   Lips that kiss can tell you clearly

   Without this our lives are merely

   An imitation of life