Cognizant Dissonance

Cognizant Dissonance 36×48 Acrylic, Silver Leaf, Gold Leaf on Canvas

We are cognizant of the cognitive dissonance.

A condition of conflict and anxiety created by inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s reality. The confusion that results from holding onto beliefs which are incongruous to what we are witnessing can leave fractured truths clinging to our perceptions. The concept of the Iron Curtain existed in the twentieth century, creating devisions of economies and  alliances. The remnants of that invisible Iron Curtain was psychologically dismantled with the Berlin Wall in 1989. Sometimes there is no tangible symbol to represent a curtain—especially if the curtain is actually a veil. Presently, we live in the midst of a diaphanous Golden Curtain. It represents our beliefs about Democracy, Humanity, and established social structures which we have adhered to until now. Perhaps we need to peek behind this veil to repair fractured truths and begin to dismantle the sources of our own cognizant dissonance.