-
Many of Loren Holland’s works truly encapsulates the state of women in western society today. The trash strew amidst the backgrounds of her various paintings represents excess of society as a result of our collective vices. All of the women in these paintings are wearing revealing clothing but are trying to clean up the trash or, like in the above painting, trying to enjoy life in spite of the mess. This element represents the efforts of women to sustain society which have been made trivial by society’s sexual spin on their actions in society. This certainly reminded me of one of my favorite books “A Thousand Splendid Suns” since this is the main dynamic that ran throughout the book. The two main characters of the book, Mariam and Laila, both maintain a sense of optimism and create sustainability for their families in spite of the violence and chaos created by their male-counterparts. However, the women in that mid-80’s Afghani culture were suppressed explicitly through burqas and the various other mandates that inhibited their actions, whereas women in modern culture today are implicitly suppressed through hyper-sexuality.
-
This gallery was interesting in the sense that the artist hold a different concept of life in the mind. Showing the hardships of women throughout history has been itself quite a deal to overcome because women are the ones who would so such a thing to go above and beyond what society states about them. Women can truly sense what another woman is going through, no matter how close a man is in a woman’s life, he can not feel everything the woman does.
The paintings were a bold statement about how society treats one woman or another. The religion that I believe in respects women in the sense that they are the ones that do good in a mans life. Therefore, a man should respect “her” and not play with the life of a woman since someone can do the same with your mother, sister, wife, daughter, cousin, etc.
The artist showed these women doing bad/dirty jobs in the eyes of society, but if people want to get some where in life, and live happily through life, one needs money because frankly nowadays, no one will be there for another without monetary gains and benefits. I am sure we all want to live life with satisfaction. This satisfaction of ours come from the material things that we buy with money. Everything in the world is based on money and backed up by money because nothing besides it rules the globe. Thus to gain money, a person has to start somewhere – which would be doing such jobs. Hence maybe the artist is trying to show the beginnings of what women do as in a job and what utensils they use to reach high places – as in their bodies (which is a truly sad thing for anyone because the person will be someone’s mother, wife, sister, daughter, etc.)
Also, I remember that this gallery was separated by the others as in it was on one side of the street while the others were on the other side. Maybe its because we did not visit all the galleries there might have been others on the same side as this one. I didn’t get to analyze the full gallery since I was busy speaking to Mohammed for where to come and meet the group. Hence the above is my conception of the artists thoughts while making these images.
-
A little rushed.
-
Oh my. It was a little rushed because I think we are supposed to finish these blogs before the end of the semester (Dec 22nd). – Sorry đ
-
The Virtues of Vice was my favorite gallery that we visited. It displayed the nature of American mediaâs portrayal of minority women in todayâs society. This is an example of revolutionary art as it makes viewers rethink the role of femininity in this capitalistic economy. While women are surrounded by the trash of society, they still hold their heads high, display their own beauty and carry on with their lives. This emotion is particularly portrayed in Loren Hollandâs âA Portrait of Loren Hollandâ where a confident woman, meant to portray herself, does not let the surrounding pollution stop her from going to live her life and do what she loves to doâsurf.
I loved the contrast of dirt and ugliness with clean and beautiful women. It was an interesting political and social statement, revealing more of a message with the more time you spent looking at it. This is probably why I enjoyed it so much.
-
Insightful to a degree.
-
When I first saw this painting I analyzed it in a literal manner. I simply saw a woman with a surfboard possibly about to go surfing. Now that I am able to analyze it more thoroughly I see that âgirl powerâ is a major theme here. The scene resembles that of an aftermath of a hurricane, tornado, or a flood. Random objects scattered around amidst a vast amount of water, showing the disorder of the situation. But, I believe the main picture is the woman herself. Despite the situation she is in, she utilizes the water to go surfing. It shows that she is trying to make the best of her own situation. Also, the crossbones on her surfboard emphasizes she is not going to let a situation like this bring her down. The crossbones show toughness, and with the addition of a bow on the crossbones completes the representation of feminism. Overall, this is a powerful painting capturing the optimistic views during a time of turmoil. We can all relate to this because we are in a period of recession, and at times like these itâs best to be optimistic.
-
A concise, illuminating analysis. Thank you.
-
This reminds me of the migrant mother (from Richiâs presentation), http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/migrantmother.htm, both photos truly capture the theme of female empowerment and optimism. Even though all hope seems lost, she still stands with confident with her head high and her hand on hip. She knows that there will be some form of renewal, either by her force or someone elseâs. She is mentally prepared for the challenge and will battle to the end. As with the Katrina, the survivors later saw the renewal of their community. Even though it was not the one that they had been accustom to, it was still a renewal which meant an opportunity to make it better than the last. Holland depicts the optimism that not only females, but all humanity should have in their approach to life and the challenges that they encounter.
-
Okay, I’ll start being optimistic.
-
Once I realized that the woman in the portrait was standing in water, I immediately thought of Katrina and thought the woman was trying to make the best of the situation. After reading the article, I realized that was what the artist, Loren Holland, was going for. It seems like she’s giving a message to woman everywhere that even though life may not seem fair, make the best of what you have and move on. Loren Holland’s inspiration comes from the quote “If you got lemons, make lemonade.” This is probably why she included some fresh lemons at the bottom of the portrait. Thus, I can see lot of meaning in this work. It has a very optimistic view, contrasting from that of Olaf Breuning, who shows the degeneracy in people. I admire Holland’s positive imagery and feel that I can learn from her paintings. A lot of the essays that I’ve read in my English class emphasize the world’s deterioration and decline. Holland is saying that instead of complaining about the world, we should accept it for what it is and get out and help fix it.
-
I’ll lend you a hammer and nails.
-
When i walked into this exhibit, I first glanced at the title, The Virtues of Vice, and then proceeded to the paintings. After scrutinizing the paintings i had to look back at the title and ask myself “I definitely see the vice in the paintings, but where are the virtues”. I am not well versed in feminist works but when I think of the feminist movement, I think about the depiction of women as strong, powerful and intelligent. This exhibit was certainly different from my expectations by depicting women doing things that seem to be socially unacceptable. However I found it interesting how the women in these paintings break out of social conformity, doing things that are not generally expected of them.
-
The title of the exhibit is “The Virtues of Vice,” not “Virtue or Vice.” You should be asking, “When is vice a virtue?”
-
I believe that people over-analyze artwork and think that the artist has created something that the artist did not actually intend to. In this case, the painting is very simple and has different objects placed almost randomly across the page. But, I do relate to this picture. I am studying to become an architect. I want to create green architecture that is friendly to the environment and could maintain itself without using to much surplus energy. The painting shows a city that is flooded in what seems to be oil, which symbolizes pollution due to the rising economy and technology. It is my goal to create buildings that would be eco-friendly and still serve the same functions as any other building.
-
These works could be easily summed up by the phrase “art symbolism for dummies.” I loved how she included symbols that were so easily recognized. In fact, they were so easily recognizable that they seemed to clutter the painting. Even a weathered art viewer would not be able to pick out all of the symbolism in, for example, a Rembrandt painting. However, when if a viewer looks at Loren Holland’s simple color schemes and flattened perspectives and you see so many symbols floating around in the water or strewn across the ground, he or she can understand the entire meaning of the work in ten seconds. Loren Holland makes beautiful art for dummies.
-
The critic has spoken.
-
This exhibit was interesting. The women depicted in the images represent some type of corruption or inconsistency in our society. Of course the women are the first to catch our attention. But soon after our eyes race from object to object. We end up with an ironic question in our minds which comment on the state of our society today. The image of the woman basking in the “Unreal City” comments on how women today will go to great lengths, whether it be bleaching one’s hair, or lightening the tone of one’s skin, to look beautiful. They become ignorant, and blind of their surroundings. The stark contrast between the beautiful women and the ominous surroundings might reveal insight into the true nature of women.
-
When you discover the true nature of women, let me know.
-
Every work of Loren Holland in this gallery featured a woman, who seems like a femme fatale- half-naked, seductive, exploitive, and always doing something peculiar. In my eyes, they weren’t good girls. They were up to something bad. In this painting, the entire city seems to be drowning in dark water, but this woman is in her bikini with a surfing board, ready to enjoy some. What the heck is she thinking?!
But on the other hand they show rebelliousness and emit a strange aura of confidence. They seem to know what they’re doing, and they will do it. This girl’s going to enjoy her surfing out of the town.
By the way, I like the little skeleton with a ribbon on her board. A feminine injection into the ultimate symbol of death.
-
Some nice imagery.
-
This was one of my favorite galleries. The reader in me enjoyed the contradiction and alliteration in the title. I also enjoyed the allusions in the trash strewn about the base of the paintings. That was almost my favorite part. I got more joy in the aptly placed bucket of KFC or bottle of Chanel No. 5 than in the paintings as a whole.
-
“It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.” ~Robert Southey
But not always. Elaboration would have been appreciated.
-
I wasn’t at this exhibit in Chelsea (I arrived 45 minutes late D:), but looking at the picture posted, it looks very interesting! I agree with Eman; I can never feel completely like I understand the painting, even after looking at it for a very long time!
My personal opinion is that it’s a feminist statement on the power a woman has. Everything ties into this in the above picture. The woman is knee-deep in water (?), but has a surfboard. It is up to her to escape. It’s not “check-mate,” even though her sense of direction is completely lost (the sunken weather vane, skewed one way sign). She knows when life gives her lemons, she must make lemonade, or the best of her bad situation….it’s up to her to pick up the pieces and save herself. This piece is witty!
-
This is why the early bird captures the worm.
-
As I looked at this painting, my eyes traveled from object to object, my mind making up a story about the girl, the bottle and the lemons. I felt like Loren Holland was telling us a story with one ending, but how that ending was reached was up to the viewer; us. Her placements of the objects in her paintings all seem very random, but who’s to say that life isn’t?
I really like Loren Holland’s use of color; not too bright, but not dull either. The tones she uses establish the environment and feel of each painting and like several other artists, I can stare at one painting for hours and still not have seen it all.-
“A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things.”
âErnst Ludwig Kirchner -
I thought that this exhibit was particularly intriguing during our trip to Chelsea. It truly made me think not about feminist art alone, but what is going on with today’s society. The women in these paintings are sexualized and exploitive, but I don’t think the intent to exploit women as sexual characters. Rather, I find that each of these women was struggling to find themselves in a massive clutter of garbage. Pop culture, the media, and the inflated economy provide us with so much excess that it is often impossible for us to find a way to do what we love, or be who we want. So if a girl wants to surf, or she wants to be a dancer, or just take a breather, what is stopping her? Well, Holland says that money, material items, and stereotypes are stopping her. But Holland clearly observes that nothing is impossible, and that with the power of the female mind, we can achieve our goals, even in the midst of all this garbage in life.
-
The late politician Bella Abzug: “Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel.”
-
When first looking at this work of art I initially noticed the woman in the middle then after investigating the work further, I noticed the presence of waste and garbage that surrounded her. She’s holding a surfer board so it seems like she’s swimming in this filth, and possibly accepting it to be natural. The message with this work was clear, it criticizes the stature women sexuality holds today. The woman’s body was once praised as a work of art, and though it may seem cliche, it’s a sacred temple. There is reason many artists choose to use women as the center of their work; the female physique was beautiful as opposed to the man’s “ugly” anatomy. Today, the female physique (and sometimes female in general) has been condemned down to the status of the garbage we throw out and random inanimate objects. However, the real issue is that women have come to accept this kind of treatment and take it as the norm indicated by the woman’s surfer board. This work of art is one of the few examples of a feminist movement, it urges women to take charge of the situation; to appreciate themselves enough to not accept the kind of treatment many women witness today.
-
Anna Quindlen: “New York City has finally hired women
to pick up the garbage, which makes
sense to me, since, as I’ve
discovered, a good bit of being a woman
consists of picking up garbage.” -
I did not go to this exhibit đ
btw everyone here is the link I was trying to connect to during our presentation about the guys showing off their outfits. The short-film is called “Tagged”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/arts/design/09triennial.html
-
I’ve seen many feminist works before, but I’ve never seen one interpreted in this manner. I’ve seen feminist works that represent a woman’s physical strength, power, and knowledge, but none that sort of portrayed a rebel side of them. I don’t really remember this gallery too well, but from the little bits and pieces that I remember, the bigger painting sort of portrayed women as rebels. The environment that they were placed in is very polluted. I can definitely see that the artist tried to show female power and unity, but I feel like it went a bit overboard. As a feminist painting, it wasn’t effective enough because it sort of portrayed the darker side of women. Yes, women should be free and equal, but at the same time, they should maintain a certain image for themselves. I think everyone, not just women, have to maintain some sort of image for themselves. I didn’t closely examine the painting (thus the reason for its vagueness in my mind), but speaking about the part where a man is tied to a tree, I think that it’s a powerful symbol for feminists, but naughty at the same time because of the environment and the way the women are dressed. There’s a lot of action in the painting. I feel like the artist’s intentions were almost backwards, like seeing males’ power in the eyes of women. For me, feminism should definitely be shown in a less polluted, rebellious manner.
-
You might be interested in checking out this site: http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/20thcentury_feministartists.html
It’s “An Overview of Feminist Artists of the 20th Century.”
-
Viewing this piece and the others in the gallery as feminist works was a challenge I truly embraced. If I am viewing a work of art that was carefully and meticulously constructed then I must evaluate it with the care and consideration it deserves. Although it is difficult for a man to place himself in the shoes of a woman, he can still have some insight into a world that isn’t his own. The main piece presented, in which woman had tied men to trees, seemed so grand to me that I had to walk away and return to it multiple times. After a while I began to appreciate the sentiments of the women portrayed. It was clear from the piece that women were the dominant beings in the world that was painted. At that point the challenge I had in comprehending the work led me to challenge the probable perspectives of the artist. Feminism, like all social movements, strikes me as a surge for power and domination over other groups; men are the culprits in this case. While I can understand the feelings of those individuals, I disagree with their actions. The more our society becomes engaged in group warfare the more difficult it will be to achieve unity. When I look out into the world, I do not see groups as this artist does. Rather, I see human beings, individuals who are born equal and who all have the opportunity to succeed. I can see this art appealing to feminist women and I think that is dangerous. If art is supposed to be subjective then it should appeal to all people in some form or another. But feminism, just like chauvinism, is designed for a specific collection of individuals. As long as we break ourselves up into groups, the quarreling and disagreement among people will never die out.
-
You write: “If art is supposed to be subjective then it should appeal to all people in some form or another.”
Why? Isn’t art a way for minority groups to empower themselves and speak to each other, especially when mass media places limitations on their communication?
Where on the air waves today can you find radical feminists expressing their views? Or their sexuality?
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Comments are now closed.
NYT > Arts
- âForbidden Broadwayâ Scraps Summer Broadway Run, Citing Crowded Season
- An Unearthed Johnny Cash Recording, and 11 More New Songs
- At the Louvre, the Olympics Are More French Than You Might Think
- Did Richard III Kill the Princes in the Tower?
- Review: Turning a Dance Spotlight on the Painter Juan de Pareja
- âMary Jane,â âHellâs Kitchenâ and More New Broadway Shows
- No Rest for the Wicked Is Moon Studiosâ Pivot Into Dark Fantasy
- Five Horror Movies to Stream Now
- Disney Scrapped âThe Spiderwick Chronicles.â Roku Saved It.
- Maurizio Cattelan Turned a Banana Into Art. Next Up: Guns
36 comments