Thursday, February 8, 2018

"...deco"

In today's context the above is seen as porn. So much has been sexualized mostly for commercial purposes. The recent removal of a pre-Raphaelite painting from a museum in the U.K. This on suspicion it may perhaps in a way could have been child porn is an excellent example of our current situation.

However earlier ages viewed nudity very differently. Even within that different cultures had different views. For some it was religious others political.
In the modern era say from the 15th century on. Artistic values were applied. In the last 100 to 150 years overtly sexual ones. Today no matter one's feelings liberal or conservative. A reflex on seeing nudity is a sexual one. This work above is "modern" art deco with a strong lineage to the 'classical'.

The intent wasn't sexual.

However being in this era regardless of intent we all get a sexual sense from it. Btw of course there was always sexual art...from the very beginnings of our having the ability to make any kind of image. Assorted values were overlaid as history stumbled along. As I say right now anything with human nudity from nudist photos of old guys playing volley ball to the most surreal sexual art is seen by nearly all as just porn or near porn.

Commercial art of the 20th, and 21st centuries is both covert, and overt porn. This has given us the values, of how we see nude art. A far future era will see it all in an entirely different way.

This because predatory capitalism which supports among other forms of madness a sexualized view of commercialism. This model is no longer sustainable. It as we see is soon to fall. Whatever replaces it will have a very different sense of commerce. That "commerce" will have a radically different art sense ,...probably.




Just as we have a default position of seeing ancient art as ceremonial/religious. Our work will be seem exactly the same.  "Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards."

...Stanley Milgram. That sums it up.



No comments: