Too Weird to Live; Too Rare to Die

Diego Rivera

Mini Biography: He was born in Mexico City in 1866. Rivera started studying painting in 1907 and spent about 14 years in Paris. Renaissance frescoes of Italy inspired Diego and he then returned to Mexico with his new found inspiration. He was able to have a wider audience because of the medium he chose. He was married to Frida Kahlo whom was featured in his works of art. Rivera helped begin the Mexican mural movement.

Dream of a Sunday afternoon in Alameda Park

1947-48

Fresco

50ft x 13ft

Commentary on work: “To affirm God does not exist, I do not have to hide behind Don Ignacio Ramirez. I am an Atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis”.

Background information: The mural is representative of the principle eras of Mexican History: The conquest, the Porfiriato dictatorship and the revolution of 1910. It was a way for Rivera to show that there is still struggle in Mexico but there will be a time for their freedom.

Relation to the exhibition: La Cantina is represented in the mural along with past warriors of Mexico. La Cantina represents the “muerto” or the dead in Mexico and in the mural you can see how the dead are embraced more so than feared.

Damien Hirst

Mini Biography: Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965. He started becoming intrigued with death as a teenager. When he was 16 he began to make frequent visits to Leeds Medical School to create life drawings. In 1989 he graduated from Goldsmiths College in London. There he learned the significant difference between painting and sculpting. With his works he tries to explore death life, religion, beauty and science.

With Dead Head

1911

Photographic Print on Aluminum

22.5 x 30 in

Commentary on work: “‘With Dead Head’ is an expression of the difficulties inherent in attempting to understand our own mortality, and in dealing with the “unacceptable idea” of death.[2] Hirst explains: “To me, the smile and everything seemed to sum up this problem between life and death. It was such a ridiculous way of being at the point of trying to come to terms with it, especially being sixteen [...] This is life and this is death.”

Background information: His curiosity of death inspired this piece of art. He visited the morgue to learn more about death. At first he was scared and it made him feel sick but later he was able to become somewhat comfortable with the idea of life and death. This photo was taken of him and a head when he was 16 years old.

Relation to the exhibition: This peculiar piece fits into the exhibition quite well because of its focus on the dead. Also it is astonishing how someone so young can be so enticed by the complex nature of death. It is not every day that teenagers go and take a picture with a decapitated head. Hirst proves the line between life and death by having so much energy next to someone who has just had their life taken away from them.

Edvard Munch

Mini biography: Munch was born in 1863 in Norway. His paintings personified his emotions. His upbringing was heavily reflected in his art which focused on illness, death and grief. After 1909 his works became less intense due to a mental breakdown that he received extensive therapy for.

The Scream

1893

Tempra Pastels on Cardboard

35 ¾ x 29 in

Commentary on the work: “The actual mental image of the existential angst of civilized man”.

Background information: “The Scream” is part of the series “The Frieze of Life”. The series as a whole focuses on life, death, love of mysticism. The emotion of anxiety is clearly distinct in the painting which is something that Munch suffered from. According to Munch’s diary entry the idea behind the painting was that, “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.”

Relation to the exhibition: The intense emotions you get from looking and analyzing the painting is why I have picked it for my exhibition. It is filled with such negative energy and gives the audience an uneasy feeling. It seems to be a grim state of mind.

Harmen Steenwyck

Mini Biography: He was born in Delft. His brother is also a vanitas artist and they were both informally taught by their uncle. He was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and mainly focused on still life.

Still Life – An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life

1640

Oil on Oak

39.2 x 50.7 cm

Commentary on the work: “…[A] classical example of a Dutch vanitas painting. It is essentially a religious works in guise of a still life”.

Background information: The objects that he has chosen to paint connect to the biblical passage of Matthew 6:18-21 in regards to the vanitas message. Each aspect of the painting has a different symbolic meaning. The skull is the symbol of death. The oil lamp and the pocket watch represent time duration of life and it passing. The shell shows wealth, birth and fertility. The books symbolize human knowledge along with the musical instruments which also show pleasure. The sword represents power and physical luxury is shown by the purple silk. Lastly the jar shows life because without it you cannot have death.

Relation to the exhibition: I think that this fits well into the exhibition because it directly relates to death. He wanted to show all the materialistic items that people tend to care about when they are alive. People want to show off and be the best but where does all this stuff go once we are gone? That is the dismal message that he attempts to portray in his painting.

Pieter Brugel the Elder

Mini Biography: He was a Flemish painter of the 16^th century. His paintings focused on narratives. He was influenced the Italian renaissance art towards the latter part of his life and career.

Triumph of Death

1562

Oil on Panel

46 x 63.8 in

Commentary on work: “In an era where heaven and the grace of God were axiomatic, this painting was and is shocking in its irreverence. Bruegel’s harsh imagery makes viewers confront and scrutinize their faith in religion and the eternal life of the soul.”

Background information: The painting represents the apocalypse and the complete end of human life. There are different social classes depicted in the painting that all get destroyed by death. There are two narratives in the painting that of the all mighty death and that of all the individuals.

Relation to the exhibition: This depicts death in its raw state. There was no mercy for anyone which I think can instill a sense of fear in people. I feel as though this is a very brutal massacre amongst the human race and it shows the reality of how one cannot fight death.

Conclusion

I found this assignment very challenging. It did not come easy to me at all. I had to really think about how I was going to connect 10 different artists and pick a theme that I found interesting. I cannot imagine doing this as a living. The research was very tedious and frustrating at times. I learned that finding a common ground between can be difficult. I changed my theme a few times to get it right. I had to research different artists and then analyze different pieces of their work and see how it made me feel and think as an individual before I accepted it as part of my exhibition. The connections that I found between the artists I realize might not be seen by everyone even with an explanation. Art is depicted differently among individuals but I tried to explain my envisions and have that relation with my audience. I think that overall for not having any experience as a curator I put together a very interesting gallery. I am proud of the work that I have accomplished although I don’t think that I would want to try and create this again.