4/30 Recap: Warhol to Evolution of Nudes

Ryan: Andy Warhol’s life and work has always intrigued me to the brink of intimidation. Fortunately, you demystified him for me. I think your focus is very clear and I like that you arranged the works in your presentation to somewhat parallel their order in the Warhol exhibition at the De Young. I’m curious to know if the Brillo soap boxes are the only work he did in sculpture-form. I know that the sides of these boxes are also silkscreened, are you then arguing that whether he had created Brillo boxes or a silkscreen of Brillo soap (like the one he made with Campbell’s soup) that there is an overreaching theme of hyper-consumerism?

Karen: First I want to applaud you for choosing to research a Surrealist artist. I find that Surrealism is like Poetry; only the artist and the poet themselves know what’s going on. But Dali is even more complicated because his paintings are so loud and not exactly aesthetically-pleasing. I liked how you brought in the general theme about his characterizations of women. I’ve never heard anything more ironic. While he claims he admires female beauty, I find no other work that monster-izes woman more than his own. Since you had to redevelop your thesis, I would suggest you examine Dali’s focus on women and analyze the grotesqueness of female characterizations in his paintings.

Sierra: I really enjoyed your presentation for its clear focus and smooth transitions. You prove that there is much to say about a single painting and how social relations influence the scenes they depict. You have a strong thesis. The only thing I would add to your research is a brief summary on whether this reforming-the-nude attitude is exemplified in more works by Manet.

Brianna: From Holy Virgin to Disposable Sex Icon, it is surprising to see how the purpose of nude female artworks has changed over the years. Hyper-consumerism has allowed for sex to be used as an object for marketing, transforming the act itself from an intimate engagement to a public activity which earns social status. And this is very unfortunate. You have a great topic to work with. My only suggestion is that your research observe the same medium, either painting or photography. Or if you decide to keep a combination of the two, identify why photography is used today to reflect this notion of hyper-sexuality and consumerism.