Untitled Document

Not Very Good, Nor Yet Very Bad*

As human beings, we are subject to two powerful, conflicting forces: our own sexual urges and society’s censure of them. As society admonishes us against anything but “normal sexual behavior,” we learn to harshly judge ourselves, and so is born the absurdity, humor and pathos of the human condition. How, after all, is it possible to live in a body imbued with insistent, often indiscriminate carnality and a thinking brain?

As film director Don Roos (“The Opposite of Sex” and “Happy Endings”) puts it, "Americans suffer from the …inability to see sex as a natural human desire.”

These paintings deal with the confusion, danger, humiliation and shame that haunt our sexual impulses. They explore the indiscriminate nature of lust, the inevitability of moral corruption, and the essential a-morality of the sexual impulse.

Using children to explore sexual themes is my way of acknowledging the fundamental role of sexuality in human development and human nature. It’s also a way of suggesting the basic humanity of all sexual pathways.

The nursery rhyme imagery and text (in the titles) suggests that the mythical pre-moral world of childhood is awash in sexual nuance and innuendo. Just as fairy tales speak of real fears and psychological realities veiled in metaphor, nursery rhymes can reveal larger truths about the carnal encounters and conflicts that await us all.

--Ellen Goldschmidt
September, 2005

Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie
18 x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink on canvas, 2005

Tom's Stolen Kiss
18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink and collage on canvas, 2005

Jack and Jill Tumble
18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink, collage on canvas, 2005

Dance to Your Daddy
18x18 inches, acrylic, aquarelle on canvas, 2005

What a Good Boy Am I
18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink on canvas, 2005

Oh, They're Sluts Indeed
18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink, collage on canvas, 2005

*The imagery and titles for this series were inspired by Lavender’s Blue, a collection of nursery rhymes, compiled by Kathleen Lines with pictures by Harold Jones, first published in 1954.

As a child, I spent hours with this book. My mother read and sang to me from it before I could read, and I trolled its pages on my own, once I was old enough.

For those who are interested in the provenance of my paintings, what follows is an index that lists the series’ title and each painting’s title, plus all image and text referents. The page numbers correspond to the 1990 reprint of Lavender’s Blue.

1. Not Very Good, Nor Yet Very Bad , (series title) p. 48. “…She had a son Jack,/ A plain-looking lad,/ He was not very good/ Nor yet very bad…”

2. Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie , p. 25. “Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,/ Kissed the girls and made them cry;/ When the boys came out to play,/ Georgie Porgie ran away.”

3. Tom’s Stolen Kiss, p. 34. “Tom, Tom, the piper’s son,/ Stole a pig, and away did run./ The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,/ And Tom went roaring down the street.”

4. Jack and Jill Tumble, text p. 37, image, p. 170. “Jack and Jill went up the hill/ To fetch a pail of water;/ Jack fell down and broke his crown,/ And Jill came tumbling after…”

5. Dance to Your Daddy, text p. 10, image, my sketchbook. “Dance to your daddy,/ My little babby,/ Dance to you daddy,/ my little lamb;/ You shall have a fishy/ In a little dishy,/ You shall have a fishy when the boat comes in.”

6. Oh! They’re Sluts Indeed, text p. 163, image p.138. “They that wash on Monday/ Have all the week to dry,/ They that wash on Tuesday/ Are not so much awry, They that wash on Wednesday/ Are not so much to blame,/ They that wash on Thursday,/ Wash for shame,/ They that wash on Friday,/ Wash in need,/ But they that wash on Saturday,/ Oh! They’re sluts indeed.”

7. What a Good Boy Am I, p 42. “ Little Jack Horner/ Sat in a corner,/ Eating a Christmas pie;/ He put in his thumb/ And pulled out a plum,/ And said, What a good boy am I!”

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A note on the stamping in some of my images: These animal stamps come from a children’s art set gifted to my son 13 years ago.

--Ellen Goldschmidt
September, 2005

Not Very Good, Nor Yet Very Bad* As human beings, we are subject to two powerful, conflicting forces: our own sexual urges and society’s censure of them. As society admonishes us against anything but “normal sexual behavior,” we learn to harshly judge ourselves, and so is born the absurdity, humor and pathos of the human condition. How, after all, is it possible to live in a body imbued with insistent, often indiscriminate carnality and a thinking brain? As film director Don Roos (“The Opposite of Sex” and “Happy Endings”) puts it, "Americans suffer from the …inability to see sex as a natural human desire.” These paintings deal with the confusion, danger, humiliation and shame that haunt our sexual impulses. They explore the indiscriminate nature of lust, the inevitability of moral corruption, and the essential a-morality of the sexual impulse. Using children to explore sexual themes is my way of acknowledging the fundamental role of sexuality in human development and human nature. It’s also a way of suggesting the basic humanity of all sexual pathways. The nursery rhyme imagery and text (in the titles) suggests that the mythical pre-moral world of childhood is awash in sexual nuance and innuendo. Just as fairy tales speak of real fears and psychological realities veiled in metaphor, nursery rhymes can reveal larger truths about the carnal encounters and conflicts that await us all. --Ellen Goldschmidt September, 2005
Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie 18 x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink on canvas, 2005

Tom's Stolen Kiss 18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink and collage on canvas, 2005

Jack and Jill Tumble 18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink, collage on canvas, 2005

Dance to Your Daddy 18x18 inches, acrylic, aquarelle on canvas, 2005

What a Good Boy Am I 18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink on canvas, 2005

Oh, They're Sluts Indeed 18x18 inches, acrylic, printing ink, collage on canvas, 2005
The imagery and titles for this series were inspired by Lavender’s Blue, a collection of nursery rhymes, compiled by Kathleen Lines with pictures by Harold Jones, first published in 1954. As a child, I spent hours with this book. My mother read and sang to me from it before I could read, and I trolled its pages on my own, once I was old enough. For those who are interested in the provenance of my paintings, what follows is an index that lists the series’ title and each painting’s title, plus all image and text referents. The page numbers correspond to the 1990 reprint of Lavender’s Blue. 1. Not Very Good, Nor Yet Very Bad , (series title) p. 48. “…She had a son Jack,/ A plain-looking lad,/ He was not very good/ Nor yet very bad…” 2. Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie* , p. 25. “Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,/ Kissed the girls and made them cry;/ When the boys came out to play,/ Georgie Porgie ran away.” 3. Tom’s Stolen Kiss, p. 34. “Tom, Tom, the piper’s son,/ Stole a pig, and away did run./ The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,/ And Tom went roaring down the street.” 4. Jack and Jill Tumble, text p. 37, image, p. 170. “Jack and Jill went up the hill/ To fetch a pail of water;/ Jack fell down and broke his crown,/ And Jill came tumbling after…” 5. Dance to Your Daddy, text p. 10, image, my sketchbook. “Dance to your daddy,/ My little babby,/ Dance to you daddy,/ my little lamb;/ You shall have a fishy/ In a little dishy,/ You shall have a fishy when the boat comes in.” 6. Oh! They’re Sluts Indeed, text p. 163, image p.138. “They that wash on Monday/ Have all the week to dry,/ They that wash on Tuesday/ Are not so much awry, They that wash on Wednesday/ Are not so much to blame,/ They that wash on Thursday,/ Wash for shame,/ They that wash on Friday,/ Wash in need,/ But they that wash on Saturday,/ Oh! They’re sluts indeed.” 7. What a Good Boy Am I, p 42. “ Little Jack Horner/ Sat in a corner,/ Eating a Christmas pie;/ He put in his thumb/ And pulled out a plum,/ And said, What a good boy am I!” ------------- A note on the stamping in some of my images: These animal stamps come from a children’s art set gifted to my son 13 years ago. --Ellen Goldschmidt September, 2005

All images copyright 2003-2007 Ellen Goldschmidt.