Erotic Art Entry Part 7

Your parents probably encouraged you not to judge a book by its cover. But sometimes it's just so irresistibly tempting... Poor Olympia has been criticized, chastised, and debased by not only her appearance but who she was... 

For more information on poor Olympia, Manet, Impressionism, or the like, please contact me at cherise@nu-garde.com
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  Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Photo Courtesy of WikiArt

Originally exhibited in the 1865 Paris Salon, this naked woman lying reclining on a bed is being brought a bouquet of flowers by her black handmaiden. The public “oohed” and “poo-pooed” at this painting, due to the shock of seeing a naked prostitute with a confrontational gaze. The clues to detect her nefarious status include the flower in her hair as well as the black choker. Never before had a woman of Olympia’s standing (or rather laying), a courtesan, been seen loud and brashly proud in her birthday garment. Painted in a modern fashion with broad, rough brushstrokes Olympia’s body is not that of a Venus or a rotund goddess. She is muscular, lean, and even a bit androgynous. She is laying buck naked, which is a departure from the nudes that existed before her. Nudes typically were goddesses who came out of clam shells or floated atop the crest of a wave, seemingly suspended by gravity. Nudes were astral, celestial, and other worldly. Most importantly, they did not have pubic hair. Before the advent of laser hair removal and waxing, women bore the 70s genital fro. Our little Olympia is hiding her genitals, alluding to the fact she is indeed a real woman. Manet outlines Olympia’s body with a thick black line that defies the idea of chiaroscuro, or illusionistic shadowing.

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Erotic Entry Part 6

As I stare out my window overlooking a grey sky filled with flurries,  I begin to have a Hockney-like moment... Imagining myself on the west coast bathed in the warmth, catching the sun's rays with my own reflection, lying next to a swimming pool.

For more information about the entries as well as art lectures and gallery and museum tours, contact cherise@nu-garde.com or www.nu-garde.com/.
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      David Hockney, Sunbather, 1966, Acrylic on canvas, Collection of the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

Photo Courtesy La Louver

California dreamin’ is indeed one of the first thoughts that comes to mind with David Hockney’s pool series paintings. For a gay British artist, traveling to California in the 60s was a most riveting experience that captivated and transformed Hockney’s artistic output. The colors, vibrancy, nudity, artificiality, and phenomenal weather were enough to invigorate Hockney in more than one way.

In England, where it is bleak and grey for more than three quarters of the year, sunlight and swimming pools were a more than welcome change for Hockney. By flying over California, Hockney was able to see the intensely blue chlorinated swimming pools in almost everyone’s backyard. Pool culture is an aspect of California that Hockney capitalized on intently. In Sunbather, we have an aerial perspective of the bather and pool, much as Hockney had when he was flying to California for the first time. Also, for a twenty something gay man, seeing all of the toned, buff, and naked shaved male bodies lounging by the pools must have been sensory overload. The sunbather is lying next to the water, catching the reflective rays of sunlight in order to fully bronze sans tan lines. The sunbather sports a speedo tan line that demarcates the bronze California flesh from the delicate areas which are kept in modesty. Perhaps he took a skinny dip in the water and is now resting… or he’s just lying there for our enjoyment. Using the fairly new medium of acrylic paint allowed Hockney to explore a wider vibrancy of colors. The swirly white spirals in the pool signify waves, but also reference a bodily fluid secreted during sexual arousal. The sperm-like tendrils take the viewer from the other side of the pool to a position right beside the sunbather. He may be more engrossed in his tan, but we’re more interested by when he’ll turn over to complete his tan on the other side.  

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