Small study for a bigger work, Believing that we’re chronically deficient in the qualities that society deems most valuable makes no logical sense. That’s almost as crazy as declaring that a naturally gorgeous baby really needs a nose job and an eye lift in order to be as close to perfect as possible. Sadly, recognizing the bona fide truth of our innate merit can, indeed, be illusive when culture functions as our psychological judge, jury, and executioner. The moment we begin to digest the societal values junk food diet that is spoon-fed to us, we buy into the we suck rhetoric…the superficiality…the utter nonsense of it all. Always feeling as though we haven’t achieved enough career kudos or material successes to prove that we matter. Holding ourselves up to an impossible standard of wrinkle-free, supernaturally svelte, eternally buoyant physical beauty. Thinking that our value is somehow tied to social media followers, likes, and far too many other psychologically damaging gold star-esque reward systems. Caring so much about the approval of a bunch of faceless online entities that we deliver daily performances - selfie-voguing, inane minutiae documentation, smoke-and-mirrors alter-ego curation - all for fleeting approval that still never helps us to experience genuine validation. Can we just be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that the highly manufactured, plasticky culture that we willingly participate in is simply just distracting, vapid white noise? It means nothing. It doesn’t enrich us with substantive affirmation, nor does it teach us that heeding our own inner voice can lay the groundwork for personal evolution. The deafening soundtrack that has infiltrated our minds has only reinforced the idea that strategically curating the concept of worthiness is far more important than taking the necessary steps in our real lives to legitimately experience it within our heads and hearts. And you know what? Enough is enough. Let’s raise a glass to the revelatory moment that - from this point forward - will be known as the ‘thanks, but no thanks’ movement. Believing that we are somehow less than - simply because we do not fulfill a culturally acceptable checklist of worthiness factors - ends right now. As we navigate these unchartered waters together, Francien Krieg’s self-portraits - bursting with unfiltered and wildly emotive authenticity - serve as a visual reminder of what it looks like to release ourselves from society’s shackles. This is a promise that requires full volume, reckless abandon, and tapping into a level of carpe diem that has – until now – remained utterly elusive. We really do deserve to feel the twists and turns of our earthly experience. Allowing those sensations to pulse and surge through every fiber of our being is an absolute necessary. The time to revel in the glory of following our gut instincts - without fear of repercussion – is now our guiding force. Francien Krieg’s primal painterly screams are akin to a triumphant reclamation of our souls. They are reflective of the everyperson who has reached a defining moment in their life when they will no longer allow widely held stereotypes or beliefs to infect their inner truth or tarnish their spirit. The oil painter’s songs of exultation stand in solidarity with those who decide to reject the idea that - simply because they possess certain chromosomes - they should behave submissively…or endure the rollercoaster moments of life privately…or think that they have no real value other than to reproduce, look attractive, or make a six-figure income. Her boldly emotive visages mirror anyone who decides one auspicious day to make a solemn vow to finally listen to the guiding force of their heart rather than to stifling societal tenets designed to tear us down. Thank you so very much global society for all of your impossible rules, regulations, and lofty expectations that have messed up our heads and hearts for far too long. After re-evaluating the sheer lunacy of it all, however, this is our official ‘thanks, but no thanks’ letter of resignation. Yeah, really. You hold no power over us anymore. Technicolor feelings, here we come! We’re thoroughly looking forward to making up for lost time by allowing our courageous authenticity and beautiful imperfections to illuminate the path ahead. As it turns out, those are two brilliantly self-validating superpowers that we’ve possessed this whole time!