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| The Two Fridas Frida Kahlo, 1939 |
Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction by
Cynthia Freeland
Chapter 1: Blood and
Beauty
In this chapter, the author poses a question: Why has blood been used in
so much art? Good question! I remember when my husband, after a year-long
European tour, said he couldn’t bear to see even one more work of art depicting
a bloody crucifix scene. And, that’s just the traditional
work. Today, artists use blood in a number of ways – a lot of it poured on or applied with a brush.
Freeland offers us several answers to her question:
1.
Blood has similar physical characteristics to
paint, and it is an eye-catching hue.
2.
Blood is symbolic: life, virginity, sacrifice,
contagion, and so on.
3.
Shock value, especially in contemporary
performance art
There is a clear division of purpose between answers 2 and
3. The former brings members of society together ritualistically where
the meaning of blood unites them in a shared belief or value. The latter often
generates shock and fear in individual viewers who may react in a number of
ways, but not uniformly. Rather than unite, this use of blood alienates the
viewers.
Perhaps you can clarify and elaborate on this synthesis.
This is only the first part of Chapter 1 and deserves some
reflection before moving along to the second part which considers “Taste and
beauty.”
What are your thoughts?
2 comments:
Well I know Frida had medical issues which is probably the reason for her obsession. We've covered this before -- I do not appreciate its use for shock value. I question the color comment -- doesn't it dry and dull?
I do understand its use as a symbol for life, fertility, pain, suffering, and mortality - to me this is the most legitimate use. But that's just me. :)
Hi Dan, Yes, this is a redundant topic, but with a twist. AS for using real blood - you're correct. It oxidizes, turns dark and dull. Not much of an impact, in my opinion. When I was a fine arts major in college (actually, three colleges) a student used her own blood to paint with and you never would have known it after it dried. It could have been a dull paint. So, I wouldn't have known unless she told me. What's the point?
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