Azrael, I find this a complex and strong piece overall. I like the awkward cropping of the figure, as it makes the person's identity (both personally and sexually) very ambiguous and places the emphasis on where it is and what's being done to it. While I like the 3D elements, I agree that the word seems to polite. The word itself is such a strong accusation, so it seems like what it's doing in the painting should be equally charged. I like the suggestion of writing it in big, aggressive letters across the surface of the whole piece; this way it would be *doing* something rather than just *saying* something. I also feel like you could push the 3D elements further. Hanging there like that also feels too polite -- or just too arbitrary. Maybe they too could be more aggressively strewn about? Or sewn into the surface and partially painted over? I would just like to see them be more integrated with the painting. Finally, I think you could do something much stronger with the background to indicate that this is in hell. The shapes back there evoke Gauguin's paintings of tropical islands to me, and paradise is certainly not what you're going for here.
Azrael, I find this a complex and strong piece overall. I like the awkward cropping of the figure, as it makes the person's identity (both personally and sexually) very ambiguous and places the emphasis on where it is and what's being done to it. While I like the 3D elements, I agree that the word seems to polite. The word itself is such a strong accusation, so it seems like what it's doing in the painting should be equally charged. I like the suggestion of writing it in big, aggressive letters across the surface of the whole piece; this way it would be *doing* something rather than just *saying* something. I also feel like you could push the 3D elements further. Hanging there like that also feels too polite -- or just too arbitrary. Maybe they too could be more aggressively strewn about? Or sewn into the surface and partially painted over? I would just like to see them be more integrated with the painting. Finally, I think you could do something much stronger with the background to indicate that this is in hell. The shapes back there evoke Gauguin's paintings of tropical islands to me, and paradise is certainly not what you're going for here.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: "too polite".
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