capture a sense of simple comfort. Henry finds this simplicity lacking,
and looks for the pain that inevitably attends pleasure. I think,
however, this simplicity represents an act of bravery. These pieces
epitomize a lot that is uncool at art school: they are figurative
paintings; they are small, precious objects; they celebrate comfort over
criticality. Given their context, these paintings become fierce, speaking
up for joy and loveliness in a place where few others will.
Rather than directly critique our misogynist culture, Lucy offers an
alternative. She rejects the self-laceration so common in "feminist"
self-portraiture. She instead revels in the beauty of the female body and
reveals her own self-confidence. This confidence is rare among women. The
fact that Lucy's paintings lack the pain we associate with self-image thus
becomes the source of their poignancy. An image woman at peace with her
own body is a rare gem, worthy as a message of hope.
Rina
3 comments:
If you’re saying that simple comfort, “loveliness,” needs courageous defense in this institution (is it really so uncool here, though?) is it something that needs defense outside of it?
Lucy’s work is purposefully not abrasive, as you describe, and I agree with you that there is something refreshing to the positive gesture of the work—potentially she’s offering an alternative to how one views the image of the nude female. The subtleness in which she delivers that message is effective.
But when I was with the work, I kept thinking about the potential limitedness of the pleasure she portrays. It spoke to me of a pleasure that is motionless, and like I said, unchallenged. Is that how pleasure is really felt? I’m not sure. Not for me. And so it seemed like something lacking in the work.
Henry
i don't think it's really fair to say that "this confidence is rare among women..."
Maybe Alana is right that my statement about body confidence being rare among women is too broad. I was just writing from personal experience. I do think that body image struggles are common enough to make Lucy's positivity a strong statement, though.
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