drawing a day ~ week 40

drawing a day ~ week 40 Originally uploaded by dressform.

bye bye blue... hello purple. 40?? 40?? only 12 more weeks? no way. how did that happen? i felt like i was rushing on these. but oh well. i was thinking that it might be nice to bust out and do something "crazy" - but i don't know what that might be. you usually can't force that....

OK - so before i become a word recluse... i have formulated a few thoughts on artemesia... [i think lisa is also reading... not sure if anyone else is? but pat asked about it in the comments]

:: the idea of torture. of course with rendition and the like in the news it seems even more prudent. i find it amazing that BOTH sides - defense and procecution - were tortured to see if they were revealing the truth. somehow thru pain you are supposed to expose your true nature? being a pain wimp that gives me the heebie jeebies.

:: art patronage. i think it's funny how art patronage has shifted - away from religion - but is still tied to an extreme upper class. at least mostly. big artists demand big money and only the rich have that. this goes against a fundamental desire of having art for the masses [museums sort of fufill this need, but.... that's another discussion]. i also have been thinking about how artists are ultimately tied to this patronage. how does that influence what you make?? reading the demands / agreements between artist and patron were quite interesting.... 3 figures... the size of the canvas.... any specific colors [color indicating wealth]. things are slightly different now - but how much so?? i touched on this idea of patronage a bit ago. in some ways parameters are nice - whether they are set by the artist or by an outside force. sometimes i think the parameter actually allows for freedom. freedom within confinement [oh that sounds deep]. i'm also completely fascinated at how religion seems like this front for wealth gathering. the pope wants bigger and better churches and bigger and better art.... religion as government. also poignent in the current state of the world, no?

:: intrigue and scandal. i find it funny that both of those only add to the desire of artemesia's artwork. the same still holds true. so many artists ride that train.... some with success [koons, duchamp]. to me this is tied closely to the culture of celebrity and infamy.

:: the whole feminist aspect. of course i am interested in the first woman painter to gain such notority. it makes my stomach churn that she's basically property [can't be admitted into the academy w/ out daddy's permission]. i love that she reached for that - felt as though she was deserving. i also love that she was strong - aware of herself as an artist and a woman which leads me to...

:: beauty. [this kind of relates to the intrigue part]. would artemesia have become so successful if she wasn't beautiful? or surrounded by a sex scandal? beauty is a double edge sword. i think people are drawn to beauty, but it can also breed confusion and jealousy. in some sense i love that she used her beauty - painting herself nude - to further her career.... but i also kind of hate society for being interested in that. this feels very current in our culture.

:: jealousy and relationships. i like all the backstory in artemesia. who is jealous of who and why. why was artemesia's father somewhat left out of the history books [his rival not including him when he wrote a pretty extensive "history" of italian artists]. i wish i could say that all artists are friends and supportive of one another [seems that way here in the blogworld], but alas we are an emotional lot. who doesn't like a bit of gossip? who isn't interested in complicated human relationships....

so there you have it. i have about 1/3 of the book to go. i'm curious to see what happens when father and daughter re-unite. plus all the polictical stuff is funny. i love the notion of artist as spy and secret message carrier [painting portraits of bigwhigs put you in the right position to this!].

because it's summer and pretty darn hot here... polaroid #1:



the whole set here

tomorrow i take my class to SFMOMA and i'm meeting the lovely mati beforehand for lunch. yay!