What should a woman look like?
Confident, elegant, beautiful, gentle?
Night and Night recently saw the work of an artist and was shocked — for her, "I am interested in the so-called vulgar and depraved culture, which is far more powerful than what is valued." ”
In simple terms, smooth, wet, dirty, dirty, sex, sex, lust – this is the character of Marilyn Minter's work, which uses a super-sexy way to critique contemporary culture, while shaping the image of humans (especially women) into a series of grotesque, seductive body parts that make you feel that unusual beauty in the midst of discomfort.
Marilyn Minter
Born in the United States in 1948, he has been widely criticized for his works in the 1990s, and now lives and works in New York, where he has held solo exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cincinnati Center for Contemporary Art in Ohio, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, and the Kunsthalle In Zurich.
Big Mouth，Enamel on Metal 2017
Cornucopia 2，Enamel on Metal 2018
Marilyn photographs women's eyes, lips, shoes, etc. through the refraction phenomenon of water marks at a very unique angle to form an exaggerated abstract effect, with a kind of "half-covered face of the pipa".
Her work has always been bold and rebellious, full of low-level fun - women's lips, full of sparkling diamonds and pearls, outstepped tongues and other images constitute erotic images that belong to her style.
So, in addition to being admired, she spends most of her time being verbally abused for being "disrespectful", "too vulgar", and "like a tertiary film".
Manicure，2002, C Print
The Last Fucking Pam (Pamela Anderson)，2011, enamel on metal, 34 x 44 inches
Bad Habit，Dye Sub，2011
Is showing eroticism and vulgarity her original intention? (This is an absolute misconception, she is a feminist artist herself)
If you asked this question to her face, Night night thought she might laugh out loud. Although, she does wonder what would happen if a woman looked straight into the Se Qing industry and took matters into her own hands.
Recall seeing Marilyn Mint's work for the first time in person in the giant background video of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour— a woman's tongue licking candy from a piece of clear glass, "an intoxicating, carnal voyeuristic illusion." (Like the picture below)
Although the artist's views on sexiness and sexuality here are definitely not so provocative, we can still feel her curiosity – why are the actions made by women so strongly controversial and discarded and ignored.
Marilyn takes a nuanced look at the issue of "female" identity, proving women's expectations with deeply colored, seemingly cheap magazine ads. In any case, each of her works seduces her audience: let's cleanse and simplify our much more complex desires, confronting its truth and beauty.
Bullet (2004). enamel on metal, 48 x 72 inches
Indigo (2018). dye sublimation print, 101.6 x 76.2 cm
Marilyn wants to challenge the mainstream aesthetic of women, explore women's sexual autonomy, and dig into the dark side under the shiny surface.
And she hopes that when the audience recalls her work, the main thought is: the moment she sees these pictures, the contradiction in her heart - is this vulgar or beautiful?
Big Mouth (2017). Enamel on metal, 96 x 156 inches
I appreciate Marilyn,
She's a feminist who doesn't like to wear a bra.
"I didn't start wearing bras until I was 50, and as far as I know most women hate wearing bras, but they don't dare to resist. When I was a child, I understood that not wearing a bra was a feminist statement. ”
Last Sleepy Angel (2017). dye sublimation print, 152.4 x 114.3 cm
She recognizes the "imperfect concept" and has been pursuing and seeing it.
"The images I create are inherently threatening. Sex, identity, race, and violence are all challenging issues, and even if I'm not a creator, someone else will be ostracized and misunderstood. ”
100 Food Porn #61 (1990). enamel on metal
"100 Food Porn" (1990)
She loves and hates Ptu,
"I love it, but sometimes I think it's terrible. I hate it makes every woman look so delicate, their skin smooth to the point of blemish-free, their slim figures a little distorted, and they look like robots rather than real humans. It doesn't need to be too perfect, it looks independent. ”
Her advice to women,
"Be the person you want to be, not put your hopes on someone who is strong."
Pierce，2006, C Print
Chewing Pink，2009, C Print
We all need to face or become outside of desire,
Authentic, independent, and dare to face imperfect women.
Vulgar, which part is vulgar?
Perfect, where is the perfection of man?