Born in 1951 in Osaka, the third largest city in Japan, Yasumasa Morimura is a Japanese artist who has become well-known for his captivating and elaborate portraits which emulate iconic art historical images as well as aspects of mass media and popular Western culture. He is able to realistically slide into the roles of art historical icons such as the Mona Lisa as well as prominent actresses such as Marilyn Monroe through extensive preparation. A majority of his portraits deal with issues such as cultural and sexual appropriation as well as the multifaceted, complicated relationship between Japan and the West. Costumes, makeup, props, and digital manipulation are used to produce provocative, large-scale self-portraits which challenge these …show more content…
One of Morimura’s most iconic pieces, Daughter of Art History: Princess A is based on one of many portraits of the Infanta Margarita by Diego Velazquez, and is meant to inspire a feeling of estrangement in viewers. The process of creating this piece was incredibly elaborate, taking several months to complete. A remarkably complicated set was built to appear as similar as possible to the background of Velazquez’s original work. Morimura then proceeded to paint his face to mirror the appearance of the Infanta Margarita and inserted himself into the work by way of a small hole in the background fashioned for that purpose. The three-dimensional stage he created combined the background and the body of the princess in a way that permitted him to attain the desired self-portrait with a single, unaltered photograph. He also deliberately exposes his masculine arms in place of the Infanta Margarita’s slight, girlish limbs to indicate to the viewer that he is neither a female nor a child. By doing so, Morimura is creating “an ambiguous realm which is (a) neither adult nor child, (b) neither a contemporary image nor a historic painting, (c) neither Asian nor Western, and (d) neither woman nor man”
History plays a very important role in the development of art and architecture. Over time people, events, and religion, have contributed to the evolution of art. Christianity has become a very common and well established religion, however, in the past it was hidden and a few people would worship this religion secretly. Gradually, Christianity became a growing religion and it attracted many converts from different social statuses. Christian art was highly influenced by the Greco-Romans, but it was immensely impacted by the establishment of the Edict of Milan in the year 313 AD. The Edict of Milan was so significant that scholars divide Christian art into two time periods, time before and after the Edict of Milan of 313.
“A hidden weight seemed to attach itself to simple objects—a teacup, a doorknob, a glass—hardly noticeable at first, beyond the sense that every move required a slightly greater exertion of energy”(187). In Nicole Krauss’ short story, “The Young Painters”, Krauss brings across the idea of guilt swallowing the narrator because of her decision to steal a frightening story told to her by a dancer and recreate the story and publish it as her own work. In the first scene, the author encounters a captivating painter in the dancer’s home which she later discovers has a intense backstory. She later publishes the story as her own but adds a happy twist to deemphasize the horror of the original story. In the second scene, after an odd encounter with
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer born in Tokyo in 1948. Upon graduating from Saint Paul’s University in Tokyo with a degree in Sociology and Politics and moved to Los Angeles in 1970 and attended the Art Centre College of Design. He moved to New York in 1974 after receiving his Bachelors degree and now lives in Tokyo and in New York. He divides his work into photographic series, each representing a certain theme. He is most famous for his seascapes, movie theaters, natural history dioramas and portraits, and waxworks series. He explores the idea of photography and time, and uses photography as a way to record science and history alongside the idea of indescribable human nature. His aim when creating portraits is to make them as lifelike as possible so the viewer reconsiders what it is to be alive.
Diego Rivera was deemed the finest Mexican painter of the twentieth century; he had a huge influence in art worldwide. Rivera wanted to form his own painting fashion. Although he encountered the works of great masters like Gauguin, Renoir, and Matisse, he was still in search of a new form of painting to call his own (Tibol, 1983). His desire was to be capable of reaching a wide audience and express the difficulties of his generation at the same time, and that is exactly what h...
The painting, in its simplest form, consists of a naked woman lying elegantly upon stately and rich cloths, while a young, also nude boy, is holding a mirror which contains her reflection. Upon first glance of this work, I was quickly able to make out the identity of the two subjects. ...
One can immediately see the involvement of age in this sculpture because of her hunched back, bone structure, wrinkles, baggy eyes, saggy breasts, and all the other imperfections, but also shows that she has some kind of background history. She is also missing her arms, which one would be carrying a basket with fruits or vegetables, and the other could be carrying a chicken. Her dress, slipped off of one shoulder, epitomizes women of age during childbearing years had
... though employing a familiar subject (the female form), shows the transformation from busy mosaics with gold embellishments to a brighter palate of colors and the use of stronger, bolder lines. The piece exemplifies his versatility as an artist.
Picasso ignored the traditional aesthetic canons governing the representation of the female nude. The bodies are deformed. The woman sitting presents both his back and his face. The influence of African art, which replaces that of Orientalism of the nineteenth century, is very clear in the
“Picasso painted from a model who sat in front of him, facing him”. Thus, you are “in the position of the artist”. The unique element of the painting is that use of cubism, which allows for the painting to carry a form of mystery behind it, as it does not simply give you the image, rather, it provides the elements of a complete composition that then the viewer must piece together. What the image truly shows us, however, is that of a naked female playing a mandolin with us as the viewer able to see the profile of her face looking down towards the strings of the mandolin, while her body faces towards the viewer, giving a good usage of twisted perspective. “The colors in this painting are shades of light brown, tan, yellow, and olive green. They all seem close to each in color, and they are all muted or dull” with “no bright color standing out. These factors make the entire surface of the painting appear unified in color.” Thus turning the piece into more of a puzzle that the viewer mush piece together rather than merely a painting one could simply
The painting is intimate, almost as if was not meant for the eyes of the viewer. The mother gently holds the baby, within her arms, as she feeds him. The mother’s gaze is met by the child as it reaches out to touch her face. The background is simple, emphasizing the closeness between the mother and child, much like Le Brun’s piece. Additionally, Cassatt’s The Child's Bath, 1893 “with its striking and unorthodox composition, is one of Cassatt’s masterworks” (“The Child's Bath”). Within this composition, she employed the use of unconventional devices such as cropped forms, bold patterns and outlines, and a flattened perspective (“The Child's Bath”). Cassatt utilizes a pastel-like color scheme, exemplifying the delicateness and tenderness between the mother and her bathing child. Her brush strokes are swift and gentle, again, suggesting the passionate, yet soft, love the mother has for her child. The elevated vantage point invites the viewer to observe this intimate moment, but not to
This painting has deviated from the standard Renaissance model in that it goes beyond depicting subjects and scene, and employs exaggerated form, color emphasis, abnormal planar depiction, and visual directionality. The aspects of this painting have become the embodiment of the story told and the characters there held. The artist has used various techniques of color, line, and juxtaposition in order to portray an idea which supersedes the sum of its parts, and thereby leads the viewer through a thought.
The Madonna and Child, created by Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni between 1410 and 1415, is an iconographic painting of the Virgin Mary (left) and a chubby baby Jesus (right). The panel is painted with tempera and the halos around Mary’s and Jesus’s heads are made from goldleaf. La Toilette, painted by Richard Miller in 1910, is an Impressionist painting of a woman putting on her make up. He uses this subject to compare putting on makeup to applying oil paint on a canvas. In order to create the desired impact on the viewer of their paintings, Cenni and Miller use similar stylistic techniques to portray their female subjects.
These works may be labeled objectifying also because a male painter painted them. Today, these works could be seen as empowering to women. The first painting gives off an emotional ride of one duplicated woman or two women. The second painting shows an emotional journey of prayer and relaxation of a woman sitting in the lotus position. The third painting could represent a strong and empowered women respecting herself and her body. Times have changed and so have views of women in society which have influenced a change in how people view nude women in
Many artists started experimenting with new styles of art throughout the Baroque Ages to the present time. These paintings and sculptures were famous for the detailed work and the beauty of art. To define male beauty, these arts have simplified the creativity in masculinity. For centuries, the art of male beauty has been constantly changing and the portrayal of men has become more feminine in many artworks. These changes in these artworks were caused by the increase of time that has passed and the occurrences that had influenced people to associate these experiences through their masterpieces. It is known that mainly known that artists like to express their emotions and show their imaginations that can easily show the meanings in a visual display. By having a representation of each masterpiece, the work to provide the visual views of male beauty can mostly be found through paintings and sculptures that revolves during each era.