Art Symbolism Halp!

[Acevalefor]

I have an assignment to analyze the symbolism present in this painting:

The problem: I do not see symbolism...ever...until it is pointed out to me. I am much too literal to see anything beyond what I am looking at. To me, the painting is a partially nude woman painting semi-abstract females on a canvas. I know that a bared breast symbolizes "nothing to hide", that is; a symbol that this woman can be trusted and is not hiding anything, in some cultures. Beyond that, I have nothing to add. Anyone want to give me a few ideas about what the painting may symbolize?

[BorkBorkBork]

Classic style subject painting newer style?

[Isiolia]

The picture she's painting is one by Picasso ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Demoiselles_d'Avignon ) if that helps.

[Acevalefor]

Interesting. I didn't know that was a Picasso painting. So both artists are Latin. One from Cuba and the other from Spain.
The connection helps a bit. Especially when considering Santos' intent regarding the painter in his painting. A young artist painting an older piece...hmm.

[BaneTheBrawler]

unless the artist flat out said "this represents blah blah blah" it's all completely subjective. you literally cannot be wrong. exposed breasts can represent whatever you want them to. the entire idea of "right" answers when it comes to viewing art is utter bullshit. don't tell people in the art world that, though. it threatens their sense of self/superiority.


that being said, i tend to see what's depicted, and not any symbolism. for me, any symbolic value a painting would have would only be realized within the context of its creation. purely on its own, it's just a fucking painting.

[Acevalefor]

unless the artist flat out said "this represents blah blah blah" it's all completely subjective. you literally cannot be wrong. exposed breasts can represent whatever you want them to. the entire idea of "right" answers when it comes to viewing art is utter bullshit. don't tell people in the art world that, though. it threatens their sense of self/superiority.


that being said, i tend to see what's depicted, and not any symbolism. for me, any symbolic value a painting would have would only be realized within the context of its creation. purely on its own, it's just a fucking painting.

I am with you Bane. I see nothing but what is painted. However, I have to come up with 500+ words about the symbolism of this painting and all of it has to be backed up by the painting or the artist. It can be subjective and it can be about my personal feelings when I see the painting. However, I don't have enough imagination to see anything beyond "It's a painting, that's nice. Now can we go look at pictures of huge Lego kits?"

[wipers]

Tits. Oh yea and being vulnerable.

[Marihoki]

Hope this is helpful, looked at the painting it looks like there are two main things that I would focus on. The first being that it is a painting of a woman who is painted in a neo-classical style, painting something that is in the cubism style that Picasso was very well known for. I would also look at subject matter. Les Demoiselles D. Avingnon has a lot of history behind it so you can probably find a shit ton of information for it. If I remember correctly (which I may not, I had to analyze that painting once but forgot a lot about it) the painting of one of those turkish bath houses, and the ladies are naked, and that the ladies in that painting don't really give two shits about you staring at their nakedness. I'm pretty sure in other drafts of the painting, picasso paints a few voyer faces/figures inside of it. The woman on the neoclassical side of the painting seems to not give two shits that you are staring at her either, since her breast is hanging out. I would look at both of those things if I were you though (that being neoclassical vs cubism and just the general subject matter)

I don't know anything about the actual painting, you may want to look up history of the artist who painted it, it might also give you some ideas. Asuming they are still alive so they might have written something about it somewhere.

[Acevalefor]

Hope this is helpful, looked at the painting it looks like there are two main things that I would focus on. The first being that it is a painting of a woman who is painted in a neo-classical style, painting something that is in the cubism style that Picasso was very well known for. I would also look at subject matter. Les Demoiselles D. Avingnon has a lot of history behind it so you can probably find a shit ton of information for it. If I remember correctly (which I may not, I had to analyze that painting once but forgot a lot about it) the painting of one of those turkish bath houses, and the ladies are naked, and that the ladies in that painting don't really give two shits about you staring at their nakedness. I'm pretty sure in other drafts of the painting, picasso paints a few voyer faces/figures inside of it. The woman on the neoclassical side of the painting seems to not give two shits that you are staring at her either, since her breast is hanging out. I would look at both of those things if I were you though (that being neoclassical vs cubism and just the general subject matter)

Cool, thanks. What I read about Picasso's painting is that it is a depiction of young women outside a brothel in Barcelona. They really don't care about their nakedness and are actually in very provocative positions. I think I am going to include something about the objectification of women in there somewhere.

I really hope we never have to analyze another painting again. This is supposed to be for a writing class and our next assignment is a "Search for symbolism in film". Ugh....I hate analyzing shit like this for meaning that may or may not actually be there. So many of the other students are having fun with these types of assignments and I am contemplating dropping the class because of it. Why can't we write an argumentative essay on the merits of Castle Doctrine or an opinion piece on Climate Change?

[Marihoki]

Analyzing art is just up to interpretation really, its hard to go wrong (unless you are saying something that is completely not depicted, like saying this painting is symbolizing cats playing with yarn). Sometimes the artist has true intentions on how something is supposed to be seen, others just want to paint something pretty.

[Nyima]

To me this painting is a take on women in the art world. By her painting like Picasso it is show how this woman has skills equal to a man but it doesn't just show the painting itself. Having the woman being shown painting the picture it illustrates that her gender is always going to have an impact on how her art is viewed by others. The bared breast seems to really drive the point home by showing that women are constantly sexualized when depicted in art.

Of course take this with a grain of salt, as I'm studying electrical engineering and am far from an art lover.

Edit: Also a good portion of those in the art and English departments tend to be huge feminists so it's really hard to go wrong going in that direction. Always write to your audience.

[BaneTheBrawler]

part of what i was getting at is that you can probably safely BS your way through this. just make some shit up; as long as it's plausible who are they to argue? as for ideas on what to make up... idk. i'm not THAT well informed. some good suggestions from other people here, though.

also, film should be easier, as movies tend to provide their own context. unless you get stuck with a fancy bullshit artsy film someone made with a potatocam and sepia filter. but if you get something like narnia, or lord of the rings, shits easy. Especially narnia.

[Aksannyi]

Another interpretation could be that the woman painting is actually painting her own desire to be free, naked, exposed, uninhibited, unapologetically female, etc. It could be a tale of longing. She longs to be somehow like these women. It may be that painting them in the Cubist style indicates that she doesn't believe that she/anyone else can truly be as the naked women are, as they are distorted. It's a fantasy. She seems to have a longing for something she cannot have and her painting is how she expresses that. So painting is actually her freeing her own inhibitions, which is why you see that while she is still mostly clothed, a part of her is coming out.

[wipers]

I thought the painting represents the desire to buy shoes and save on the shipping.

[Ksandra]

Something not mentioned so far are colors. Her dress is a deep red (passion) in contrast to more washed out blues and greens in the background (calm). You could use that in connection with how she is being strong about her desire or w/e. Colors are always big for symbolism.

[wipers]

Look up a Jackson Pollock and tell me what you think of it.

[zoobernut]

My first impression of the painting was the importance of the decision to mix two very different styles of painting from two different time periods. You have classical painting mixed with cubist. One thing that happened right after the classical period when painting and art became somewhat tumultuous was artists rejected the ideals set forth for the classical painting style and moved to show that paintings could be done in different styles. This could represent the art struggles that took place during that time when there was a struggle for these new styles to come out and take a hold on the art world. The desire to cast off the idealistic world of the classical paintings. Or it could represent a desired balance between the different styles pointing out that they can coexist. I think your interpretation of this painting will vary depending on when it was painted. Sometimes when you want to figure out possibilities for the symbolism in a painting it is important to look at world history to see what events were taking place during the time period when the painting was made. You can look at big world events or even trends in the art world and it will tell you a lot about what decisions the artist made and why. That is my quick 5 minute analysis of it.

[Acevalefor]

Thanks for all the help. I I have to write it and submit it tonight. I really like the feminist stuff. This will be peer-graded and several of the girls in my class are the vegan variety of feminism. They will love that viewpoint.

[zoobernut]

Thanks for all the help. I I have to write it and submit it tonight. I really like the feminist stuff. This will be peer-graded and several of the girls in my class are the vegan variety of feminism. They will love that viewpoint.

Having taken a lot of art history classes and done well in all of them if you go that route you better be prepared to prove that was the artists intention through evidence. Finding symbolism in art is mostly bullshit but it is bullshit backed up by evidence that you can explain the connection between. I wish you the best of luck on your paper.

[Aksannyi]

Meh, I went to art school so I've taken a fuckload of history and theory classes but I always got the professors who wanted to tell you what something meant and didn't want to take into account students' interpretations or even fathom that he might be wrong.

Then again, the worst offender was also the most condescending person I've ever met, and I put him in his place. He was dead sure that all of his students were fresh out of high school with no real life experience, and said as much constantly. He showed us a painting called "Absinthe Drinkers" (google it, I'm lazy) and told us that it was not legal in the States and then asked in the most prickish way possible if any of us had ever had it, so I raised my hand. When he asked (still being a prick) where I could have possibly had absinthe, I told him, "Well, I drank it with my ex-husband when I was stationed in Germany 3 years ago."

He was so flabbergasted by the fact that someone in his class had had actual real life experience (and zomg, military experience, to boot), he could barely continue the lecture. Felt good man.

I had to argue with him about a grade once too, when he tried to tell me that a piece I'd done in the Cubist style, "wasn't Cubist enough" (wtf does that mean) and he'd given me a C on it. I guess he didn't like me after I put him in his place. God that was like 6 years ago and I still hate that guy.

But yeah anyway, sometimes you're just gonna be wrong no matter what, though it really depends on the professor.