Letters
Readers respond to the March issue.
In the March Issue's review section it says:
"The DaVinci Code is an excellent book for any information-hungry reader, and will no doubt cause you to do some research on your own."
Well - it did!
- Alston
I am sorry to say that I found this month's Woodworks cover image offensive.
The expression of her mouth makes me think this image has sexual symbolism,
which I am not saying the artist meant to portray, but that is the message
it sends. The bloody, shriveled hand in the upper corner is a bit disturbing
as well.
I love reading Woodworks and I wait eagerly for the next issue each month. I
just hope that the Woodworks editors will be more careful in choosing future
covers, covers that will not have possible offensive symbolism.
Thank you for all the wonderful articles.
Sincerely,
~Sarah~
Artist Gretchen Sveda responds:
This image is supposed to be disturbing, but it wasn't a sexual connotation I was going for.
I sat down and thought about eating, and taste. I wondered what it would be like to be deprived of all senses except one.
What if a human being had been turned into a cyborg, and the only human sensory input they had left was taste?
The brain and conciousness are intact, but 'seeing' is done with scanners and sensors, and there is no longer any touch. The 'shrivelled bloody hand' at the top is neither shrivelled or bloody, it's supposed to be delicate and fine, with transparent golden skin through which the veins can be seen. From a race so old they are dying out (yes, I know - very original), and it is holding the bunch of fruit for her.
She doesn't have hands or arms, so she can't just grab it and put it in her mouth.
Because she can't 'see' the fruit, she's reaching out her tongue, to touch it first and position herself to eat it. That part is based on watching snakes flicker their tongues over their prey before eating them.
It is an entirely new thing that she has never eaten before - the creature with her is experimenting to see how she reacts to it.
Editor Megan Larson adds:
If artists did not choose to push the boundaries, and places like Woodworks did not choose to publish or display them, it is likely that art would not have developed as it has throughout the ages.
Art is meant to be shocking sometimes, but what is taken from it depends on each person.
As always, we welcome comments. Send your letters to
All letters will be considered for publication and may be edited for content and clarity.
For questions, please use our contact form.
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