Ida Floreak
I’m so excited to have the honor to introduce you today to Ida Floreak, painter living in New Orleans, LA. Her work deals with ecological anxieties paired with reverence for the natural world. She explores what it means to be human in a time of ecological disaster, where to find hope and our place in the recovery, as well as the universal human trait of worship.
Drawing from a classical tradition with influences in the Italian Renaissance and medieval reliquaries, Ida examines the importance of acknowledging a world and systems greater than oneself, and finding the sacred in the smallest artifacts of nature.
This conversation reminded me of one of the greatest forms of activism we possess: the act of paying attention to the world around us. When we began to pay attention, we begin to see the truth of the multifaceted world around us. And when we see that truth, we are invited to imagine it and reimagine it.
Lately, like many people, I’ve been thinking about the end of the world. I’ve also been thinking about how the very concept of the end of the world revolves around humankind, and the problems within this. The world will go on, whether I am here to see it or not. There’s fear in that, but there’s also comfort, too. As Ida says, everything will adjust to whatever future is next.
When I look at her paintings, I feel certain that another world is coming— one I hope will be more connected, more intertwined, and more attentive. Ida notices the details of things, and important power in the act of imagining new worlds. We are not all so separate as we think. Look around, and look forward. There’s something waiting out there on the other side.
“Each new generation adjusts to the world it’s born into, and that goes for nature too. The mockingbird that mimics cell phones and car alarms is responding to its world. It might not know anything different. I’ve now been trying to look more toward the future, because there will be a future one way or another. As humans we have powerful imaginations, and it’s our responsibility to shape a future that’s better for our children and the children of the mockingbirds.”
Seraph by Ida Floreak. Oil on wood panel. 2019.
There Is A Shift by Ida Floreak. Oil on wood. 2022.