Saturday, April 20, 2013

What makes a painting sexual?

An article that I read recently discussed the very topic on spatially wise what characteristics represent sexuality. I've always been curious about this idea because I've never really had a handle on what things in a painting actually make it a sexual painting compared to others that may have the same but are considered not sexual in any way. The article was written by Majella Clancy and Louise Wallace called Paintings, Gender and Space: Aspects of Contemporary Women's Painting Practice in Context. Based on the experiences that Clancy has with taking paint and applying it to photographic imagery and thus creating the idea of sexual differences, spatial usage, and identity within culture (factors that are similar to artist such as Ellen Gallagher and Shahzia Sikander), there are still some aspects that leave the artist in more of a uncategorized area even though a lot of these factors put it in the modern/post-modern area.

This is called Oil and Space II by Majella Clancy, with multiple pieces showing her experiences through sexuality, race, culture, personal emotion, family etc. by digital scans, photography, and an overlay of paint.
 
Throughout the article, Clancy makes some interesting connections to her statement. Some of the work that she has done through her stay at an art industry for the purpose of research for this article connects because it takes multiple pictures from different cultures within her life and corporates them into a spatial design that represents whatever she is trying sell in her piece. This includes a digital scan of her life dealing with the Sri Lankan Culture, old photos from her Irish side of the family, etc. Art pieces like these and other from similar artists as mentioned portray the artists cross-culture experiences as she said in her beginning statement. It is all in the way that Clancy displays each piece that shows the point she in trying to make in her piece. I never really thought that it would be that simple art wise but I am so used to painting and something more complicated being on the canvas (not that this isn't complicated) that I've become simple minded and closed off to the idea that the idea that you are trying to convey can be simply expressed through the physical feel of the idea, meaning positioning something on the canvas that in a way shows what the idea feels to you. I believe that this is what Clancy is trying to point out.
 
 
This point is made by Leo O'Donovan's article "Lifting the veil: symposium, controversial exhibit explore gay identity in art". O'Donovan explains the exploration that him and his colleagues went through with their own pieces that helped express their gay identity at the time that they were questioning it. He just used painting though as a way to portray this instead of it actually being physical things used like Clancy did. What both artists did was used the space setting of the frame for their work and combined it with the ideas that they want to communicate to make a piece that expressed whatever they were feeling.  Clancy and O'Donovan believe that it is the emotion behind the art work that is important. Without that, the piece is lifeless and can't really get a good show on what it is meant to be. The fact that they do different types of work though certainly might put an impact of their similar thoughts compared to if they were to both be working with the same type of art material.
 
I found this interesting because a lot of people seem to be finding a similar idea to expressing their own identity and sexuality through art. A blogger that I came across during my research names Elizabeth De Leon did a post on how she used painting as well as a medium for expressing her thoughts on her self. While this is not exactly as interesting as Clancy's art medium due to it's simplistic material, it is still an interesting idea because like Clancy and O'Donovan, she uses the color theory to portray emotion through her pieces.
 
This painting was done by Sonja Schenk from De Loan's collection expressing what Schenk believes to be on the inside of herself, capturing her soul.
 
Other artists such as Frida Khalo have used such expressionism as well to convey their belief in themselves. Her usage of it mostly discusses the affect that her experiences throughout life have changed her but the principle it still the same. She still seeks to show viewers how using something physical (even a thicker application of the paint) can really show how people can express enough emotion and thought behind a flat canvas with whatever idea they want to show.
 
-Justine Samaha
 
Sources:
 
Clancy, Majella. " Paintings, Gender and Space: Aspects of Contemporary Women's Painting Practice in Context" A Interdisciplinary Journal. 41:8 (2012) 959-975. TandFonline. Web. 20 April 2013.
 
O'Donovan, Leo. " Lifting the veil: symposium, controversial exhibit explore gay identity in art " National Catholic Reporter. 47.9 (2011) 19, Academic One File. Web. 20 April 2013.
 
Admin. "The Exploration of Identity through Self-Portraiture by Raymond Roca." Niram Art Magazine Articles in English. Defeses Fine Arts, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
 
De Leon, Elizabeth. "Rhizome | Identity - Expression Through Multiple Mediums." Rhizome | Identity - Expression Through Multiple Mediums. Rhizome, 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 

3 comments:

  1. You should explan the image that you incoorporated inyour post. Also, at the end you state "Throughout the article, Clancy brings up some good points"; you should include some of these points.

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    1. i agree with katlyn. I think that the image could be explained more in the post
      -lauren tucker

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