I can never get enough of it. I mean, art history really should have been my major because I find myself constantly yearning to learn more and more about artists and artworks past. Maybe it’s just my inner history nerd coming out, but I think it’s absolutely fascinating what people did back then.
But what’s even more fascinating is how contemporary artists interpret their predecessors’ works and rework them into their own masterpieces.
I mean, we’ll all by postcards of the Mona Lisa, but what if she was wearing a beanie and decorated with tattoos?
These artists pay homage to master artists who influenced development and essentially shaped the art world we know today. But they also imbue these works with a striking aesthetic, creating something can at once be classically beautiful and dynamically compelling.
My first glimpse of this was in my current “Women in Visual Arts” class. As we dove into the world of post-Renaissance and Baroque art, we came to an important artistic practice that dominated still-life paintings of the time. “Vanitas” paintings were a type of still-life portrayal in which tables heaped with flowers, fruit, tools, books and other miscellaneous items tell a story of morality and virtue.
"Vanitas - Stilleben" by Johannes Fris. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.In these “vanitas,” each item holds symbolic meaning meant to teach the viewer some important life lesson. Some of the most common “vanitas” were known as “memento moris” which served to remind the viewer of the transience of life and that in the end, we all pass away.
Painter Isabella Kirkland took the “vanitas” idea and structure and used it as a template for her Taxa Series. The series portrays over 400 species of plants and animals, which were “measured, photographed, drawn and observed fist hand either from live or from preserved materials,” according to Kirkland’s website.
In a piece entitled Gone, Kirkland depicts 63 species that have all become extinct since colonization began in the New World, according to the website.
Not only does Gone adhere to the idea of “memento moris,” but it also serves as a message to contemporary society about the importance of preserving our environment.
Modern interpretations of famous works can also deliver important messages about gender and social politics. In the original Luncheon on the Grass, by Edouard Manet, two businessmen lunch with two nude women. Presumably prostitutes, the women lounge or bathe themselves, untroubled by and uninterested in the business the men discuss.
"Luncheon on the Grass" by Edouard Manet. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.But Cuban-American painter Cesar Santos takes this scene and turns it on its head. Women discuss important matters while nude men await their attention. The painting modernizes the old ways of thinking exhibited in Monet’s piece by gender-bending positions of importance and intelligence.
While we may not agree with the background values, we must honor and respect past artists and artworks because they helped pave the way for modern and contemporary art. When contemporary artists create their own interpretations, they show their respect while also exercising the creative expression that grew from these roots.
What do you think about modernized classic art pieces? Let me know at mamccrea@asu.edu or via Twitter @mmccreary6.
