Recently, we all went for a lazy sunday afternoon wander around some of the galleries in Paddington. If you haven't been for a while, it's definitely worth the trip. Not to mention the fact that there's also a fabulous little chocolate shop in the same strip, perfect for rumination and culinary delights afterwards. Just call us Janine Antoni. Plus, some of the work we saw was definitely lickable!
Robyn Bauer Gallery had some great works by Symone Male. Looking at the Artist Bio on the gallery website, it appears that this artist has an interesting pedigree, descended from ancient clans of virtuoso illustrators and world acclaimed photographers. Seriously though, art is in this woman's blood and it shows.
Call me picky, but a pet hate of mine is seeing written material on a professional gallery website with glaringly obvious typos in it (I await your emails pointing out all my typos, naturally). We all love cut and paste, but please, if there's a squiggly red line under it in Word, it's probably spelt wrong or missing a letter. Symone's bio is a perfect example of this. Come on Robyn!
Ahem. Okay. Slight rant over. Back to the art.
Male's work consists of figurative paintings of female nudes against alarmingly bright backgrounds. The women she paints are of different ages and appearance, although I can't help but notice she favours typically thin, perky breasted 'classical' women. In each painting, Male introduces a decorative element. An ornate flower, a bird on a branch. These are much more illustrative and visually flat. It is an interesting contrast against the depth of field present in the rest of each painting.
There is a definite sense of retro 1950s, American war-fare in some of Male's work and it is these I find the most fascinating. The poses of the models are reminiscent of the scantily clad women that pilots painted on the side of their planes during world war II. Indeed, Male paints war planes as a decorative element in some of them. Combined with the eyecatching colours of the background, there is a slight sense of unease and vulnerability. We are reminded of war in the modern age. Planes that are invisible. Innocent people that are vulnerable; naked in the face of war.
In what I think is perhaps Male's most striking work to date, we look down apon a middle aged female model, arm raised, elbow bent behind her head. She is basking in a warm glow. She poses, luminous, against a black background that is decorated with white stars. The perspective suggests that it is draped fabric and I immediately associated it with the american flag. A black american flag.
Interesting times for America lately. The apparent war on terror. An upcoming change in presidency. I have no idea if Male intended the work to be so political, but to me, the references are unmistakable. The model in this work has her eyes closed. Her body is the epitomy of the female ideal, carefully posed in an array of flattering lines and angles. The stars decrease in size as they move away from her genital area. Mere coincidence? I don't know.
What is clear to me, is that there is an unapologetic sense of sexuality in much of Male's work. This last work I discuss, particularly invites us to view the female body as an object, rather than subject. In the normal scheme of things, this would have a very clear reading, but given the context of the backdrop, I cannot help but feel the model is instead staring inward. It draws us to question western concepts of innocence, sexuality, violence and the complex relationships that exist between them. Where lies our own sense of guilt? Our apathy?
Considering that today is the first of september, you may well miss Symone's show at Robyn Bauer, but the works I discuss are on the gallery website (linked above). If you have missed the show, next up at that gallery is Postcards from South-East Queensland, goache miniatures by Nick Leahy and Soft Weather Series by Karena Wynn-Moylan.
Robyn Bauer Gallery had some great works by Symone Male. Looking at the Artist Bio on the gallery website, it appears that this artist has an interesting pedigree, descended from ancient clans of virtuoso illustrators and world acclaimed photographers. Seriously though, art is in this woman's blood and it shows.
Call me picky, but a pet hate of mine is seeing written material on a professional gallery website with glaringly obvious typos in it (I await your emails pointing out all my typos, naturally). We all love cut and paste, but please, if there's a squiggly red line under it in Word, it's probably spelt wrong or missing a letter. Symone's bio is a perfect example of this. Come on Robyn!
Ahem. Okay. Slight rant over. Back to the art.
Male's work consists of figurative paintings of female nudes against alarmingly bright backgrounds. The women she paints are of different ages and appearance, although I can't help but notice she favours typically thin, perky breasted 'classical' women. In each painting, Male introduces a decorative element. An ornate flower, a bird on a branch. These are much more illustrative and visually flat. It is an interesting contrast against the depth of field present in the rest of each painting.
There is a definite sense of retro 1950s, American war-fare in some of Male's work and it is these I find the most fascinating. The poses of the models are reminiscent of the scantily clad women that pilots painted on the side of their planes during world war II. Indeed, Male paints war planes as a decorative element in some of them. Combined with the eyecatching colours of the background, there is a slight sense of unease and vulnerability. We are reminded of war in the modern age. Planes that are invisible. Innocent people that are vulnerable; naked in the face of war.
In what I think is perhaps Male's most striking work to date, we look down apon a middle aged female model, arm raised, elbow bent behind her head. She is basking in a warm glow. She poses, luminous, against a black background that is decorated with white stars. The perspective suggests that it is draped fabric and I immediately associated it with the american flag. A black american flag.
Interesting times for America lately. The apparent war on terror. An upcoming change in presidency. I have no idea if Male intended the work to be so political, but to me, the references are unmistakable. The model in this work has her eyes closed. Her body is the epitomy of the female ideal, carefully posed in an array of flattering lines and angles. The stars decrease in size as they move away from her genital area. Mere coincidence? I don't know.
What is clear to me, is that there is an unapologetic sense of sexuality in much of Male's work. This last work I discuss, particularly invites us to view the female body as an object, rather than subject. In the normal scheme of things, this would have a very clear reading, but given the context of the backdrop, I cannot help but feel the model is instead staring inward. It draws us to question western concepts of innocence, sexuality, violence and the complex relationships that exist between them. Where lies our own sense of guilt? Our apathy?
Considering that today is the first of september, you may well miss Symone's show at Robyn Bauer, but the works I discuss are on the gallery website (linked above). If you have missed the show, next up at that gallery is Postcards from South-East Queensland, goache miniatures by Nick Leahy and Soft Weather Series by Karena Wynn-Moylan.
2 comments:
Hi, It's great to see a blog based in Brisbane. I am really hoping that the typo in the heading of this post is deliberate :-)
We'd like to say that we did it on purpose but it's a fair cop! Good job we're not a professional gallery ;)
Mea Culpa :)
Welcome aboard!
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