Amuse A Muse
- oil , with pumice textured acrylic primer, on wooden panel
- 12 x 12 x 1 in
- $2,250
- Michael Abraham
-
Available
Here the standard trope of ‘artist with muse’ has been turned on its head. With the males are vying for the female artist’s gaze, she is pleasantly engaged in painting suggestively ambiguous shapes in modernist fashion.
I have a friend who is more puritanical than I who asked me “Why the fascination with the naked form?” to which I replied “It’s who we are. Clothing necessity is a social construct. And it keeps us warm.” She replied, “Isn’t it modesty?” to which I replied “Modesty is a form of social construct as well”.
So as much as it is can be playful to paint imagery like this, it is also a political, philosophical, and moral statement, especially since there is so much shame, avoidance, and concealment around sexuality, and education on it. (I personally recommend the podcast ‘SEX and Psychology” with Justin Lehmiller.)
An absurdly amusing example of the shame is when the Picasso painting “Les Femmes D’Algiers” was shown on tone evening newscast as the most expensive painting of his ever sold. They had blurred where the black dots of the nipples were. And yet the triangles and v shapes of the lower torso region were on full display. I couldn’t help myself from laughing.
Getting nearer to having lived the fullness of human experience, I now see that what I was once taught was considered sinful, lustful or morally wrong, I see now as sensual, playful and celebratory. Indulgence is not always at the expense of others, and living a pleasured experience will not kill you. I have learned that some people are comfortable with things in this realm, and others are not. As some French people say “Vive la difference.” I wish we were guided better as teens and young adults to understand things thus related!
So, Naked Frisbee anyone? :)
On a technical note, I was exploring a new surface to paint on. The texture of the pumice primer chewed the brushes as I painted, but I enjoyed the way the texture created a bit of sparkle and undulation to the forms. I will use this surface again!
- Subject Matter: figurative - surreal