Congressional Art Competition 2021

Madelaine Mihalko
Hold Me Up

“Hold Me Up” is a symbolization of a person’s reliance on others to enjoy life and survive. The hand is the people and things that hold up a person and stabilize their life. This depiction of holding this defenseless person above water can be seen by the viewer as an act of trust, or an act of hospitality. The viewer could even see this as both feelings stemming from each subject within the illustration. I wanted the piece to give a feeling of tranquility, but still make the viewer question the meaning and even come up with their own. I personally feel each meaning a person comes up with in correlation to a piece of art is something that they themselves need to hear or acknowledge.