This is fantastic. How come I've never heard of Joan Semmel?
Hm, I'm not sure, but many female artists aren't as well-known as well as they could be, in my opinion! Thankfully we have the Sackler Center for Feminist Art here at the Brooklyn Museum. (This work is from their collection). Here Semmel questions the male gaze and reclaims the female form. I like to compare this with the nearby Philip Pearlstein work, which is painted at a similar time but by a male artist.
Philip Pearlstein's work is the nude woman in the rocking chair. How do you think the identity of the artists change the way you understand the works?
I see that this room with the Semmel is all paintings from approximately 1935 onwards. What would you say they have in common?
I'd say they share interest in the human figure as subject matter. Artists have always been questioning and exploring different depictions of the human body, but this gallery highlights those thoughts after the Second World War.
You might also notice the work by Mickalene Thomas is even more recent (2007). Mickalene Thomas' work (the large painting covered in rhinestones) questions not only the role of the human body in art, but also race and intersecting identities.
Answering your question about Pearlstein and Semmel, I think the Pearlstein figure is posed in a more provocative and sexual way, with her head tilted back. So maybe that's a little more stereotypical as a depiction?
And what do you mean "intersecting identities"?
It's a contemporary idea that people can have simultaneous multiple "identifiers." Thomas is Black, a woman, queer, and a feminist. Intersecting identity recognizes the uniqueness of an individual's experience and point of view.
Thomas's identity and work are placed within these intersecting roads of understanding and conversation. I hope that makes sense!
Yes, very enlightening, thank you!
What is this?
Mickalene Thomas, a contemporary artist, explores race, gender, and the history of art. She combines iconography of the 1970s with poses of female nudes from older paintings.
Who made this? Why is it placed in this exhibition?
This work is by Mickalene Thomas, it is called "A Little Taste Outside of Love". It was selected for view here because it deals with a contemporary depiction of the body. If you look to surrounding works you'll notice American artists addressing depictions of the body from WWI to present.
Around the wall, you'll see artists trying to understand life after the horrors of war. Adjacent to this massive work you'll see artists, like Joan Semmel trying to reclaim the female nude from the sexualized male gaze in Intimacy-Autonomy.
Here, Thomas is interested in reclaiming the black female nude. Which was oftentimes objectified and abused in society and art. Thomas is interested in questioning queerness, and being a person of color and most of all desire.
I hope that helps give context to all of the works in that room.
Yes that was perfect! Definitely helps me understand why the other artworks in the room were chosen as well
You're welcome! Its almost 80 years contained in four walls, and I'd be happy to give more background.
I don't see a label for this one. Can you tell me something about it?
This work is "A Little Tase Outside of Love" by Mickalene Thomas! She's a well known contemporary artist whose work examines race, gender and 1970's iconography. Thomas is interested in reclaiming the black female nude, which was often objectified and abused in society and art. Thomas is interested in questioning queerness, and identity as a person of color and most of all desire.
Thomas also wants to push the boundaries of painting, using unusual materials like rhinestones and makes numerous collages before she makes the final work.
Who is Mickalene Thomas? Where is she from?
Mickalene Thomas was born in New Jersey in 1971 and earned her BFA at Pratt and MFA at the Yale University School of Art. She dressed her friends and family in wigs and textiles from the 1970s to paint this work and others.
The artist has put the black figure in a pose that was traditionally held by white women in western art history. The painting is referencing the reclining "odalisque" poses that painters favored to display women's bodies in 19th century art.
Woah! There's a lot going on here.
Mickalene Thomas is interested in the imagery of her childhood (the 1970s) and depictions of race and gender in art. In "A Little Taste Outside of Love" she is looking at the idea of the female nude.
In this work, we see the nude as created by a female artist, unlike earlier depictions of women by men. Thomas is also showing the nude as empowered; she is looking at us, not demurely looking away. And, rather than showing a black woman as a servant, a common feature of 19th century portraits of reclining nude women, here, she is the focus of the work.
What do you think when you look at it?
I think of a princess.
Interesting! I also love how many rhinestones there are. It really makes me want to see it at different distances.
Tell me more.
"A Little Taste Outside of Love" is a favorite in our American galleries. Thomas explores race and gender with her large bright paintings.
With this image, Thomas is interested in reclaiming the black female nude, so often objectified and abused in society and art. She is questioning queerness, being a person of color, and most of all desire. Are you familiar with Manet's "Olympia"?
I don't know Manet's "Olympia."
It's a painting from 1863 that depicts a white prostitute reclining, nude as her black servant presents her with a bouquet, presumably from a prospective client. Reclining nudes in art are often compared to this painting.
Thomas' black woman shown as a reclining nude can be seen as an attempt to turn the themes in "Olympia" and similar works around.
How long did it take the artist to complete this? And did she have a team? Seems like a lot of sequins!
It is a lot of sequins! Thomas produces a lot of large-scale work, and she does have studio assistants. I love how the rounded edges of the canvas resemble the shape of photographs in the 1970s, the era she was evoking here. Thomas dresses her friends and family members up in wigs and other costumes when they pose for her. She also references old family photos.
Cool! When you look close it looks like the sequins were glued and then paint added later.
Great observation - she does carefully block out areas of her paintings with tape in order to get the cleanly delineated areas you see.
Is this painting made of recycled materials?
It's made of paint and rhinestones on wood panel, but the graphic style and fragmentation are very much like collage. Thomas was inspired by home decor of her childhood in the 1970s. With that in mind, you can start to see how the patterns reference a sofa and pillows.
Why did she make this?
Thomas critiques the traditional depictions of black women in Western art history as maids, servants, or slaves. With "Olympia," Manet painted a black servant, for example. Thomas portrays black women as the central subject of her paintings, confident and in charge, as a way to counteract images of them in subservient positions.
Can you tell me more about the artist and how she chose the materials for this work?
Mickalene Thomas is a Brooklyn-based artist who is interested in questioning ideas of race, sexuality, and traditional art history in her work. The materials used in this painting, especially the choice to include rhinestones, plays right into her interest in turning concepts of "fine art" on their heads. Rhinestones are typically categorized as a crafting supply or may even be seen as tacky, but she subverts this idea by using them here. The rhinestones, the colors, and the patterns of "A Little Taste Outside of Love," are all in reference to the décor of Thomas's childhood in the 1970s.
Is this a painting that parodies Manet’s "Olympia?"
You have sharp eyes! Mickalene Thomas, a contemporary artist, explores race, gender, and the history of art. She combines iconography of the 1970s with poses of female nudes from older paintings. The pose here more exactly replicates the one in Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' "La Grande Odalisque," which is of the same type as Manet's famous "Olympia." Thomas is interested in reclaiming the black female nude, which was often objectified and abused in society and Western art. She herself is a woman of color. She also wants to push the boundaries of painting, using unusual materials like rhinestones here!
Could the aesthetic of this painting be considered “kitsch?"
To contemporary viewers, yes, especially the rhinestones. The patterning, though kitschy to our eyes, also serve to create a sense of time and place. Thomas attempts to recontextualize her own formative experiences that took place during her childhood and then present this recontextualization to the viewer.
Do you know why Mickalene Thomas calls this "A Little Taste Outside of Love?"
We don't know for sure, but it likely relates to the way this woman resembles depictions of odalisques or upscale prostitutes from the 19th century. We suspect that it is also somehow related to a song title from the 1970s: A Little Taste of Outside Love recorded by Millie Jackson that tells the story of a cheating boyfriend. Both art history and the 1970s are important influences on Thomas' work.
Will you please tell me more about this piece?
Mickalene Thomas' "A Little Taste Outside of Love" combines references to the "odalisque" or courtesan from 19th century European paintings and 1970s decor from Thomas' childhood. The application of the rhinestones recalls pointilist paintings of the early 20th century as well as Australian Aboriginal dot paintings.
Me encanta!
Mickalene Thomas explora la raza, el género y la historia del arte. Ella combina la iconografía de la década de 1970 con imágenes de desnudos femeninos de las pinturas del siglo XIX.
How old is Thomas?
Mickalene Thomas was born in 1971.
