A Francis Bacon, according to an ad from Artprice in ft.com on March 31, 2008, fetches more money than a Rothko.
Here is a Bacon entitled Study from the human body
Contemporary artists also paint human anatomy. David Palmer paints human subjects engaged in movement. Jacob Collins paints human subjects more traditionally as stationary form.
A New York City dance group, the Ailey II dancers, enjoy popularity.
Body culture is rampant in the U.S. No longer just aimed at fitness, it advocates mindful movement. Amazon.com offers books such as
Is there a renewed interest in the HUMAN FORM? Will such painted human form express functional anatomy, mindful or any other kind of movement?
Birgit:
There’s an entire East German school of art out there that paints in the manner of the erstwhile Soviet occupiers. Which is to say that there’s an entire school of like-minded Russians. And, of course, we are seeing an outpouring of Chinese art that draws upon the conventions of communist propaganda. Commies everywhere you look.
This coupled with the exploding phenomenon of computer avatars, the longstanding tradition of manga and PIXAR and we can see that the “figure” is depicted as a necessary
element of communication.
Birgit,
Your examples are provocative. In them, the interest in the human form seems to have its emphasis on ‘form’ more than ‘human.’
Jay,
Interesting about the Chinese angle. The ad mentioned appeared next to an article entitled “China overtakes French art market”.
As usual, I have to google half of your words. Earlier this week ‘gloaming’ and now manga and pixar. You are contributing to my literacy.
Melanie,
Looking at the pictures one may think of form only. However, my recent interest in ‘body culture’ extends beyond form to the flow of energy. A project for this summer will be reading books on acupressure and acupuncture. Admittedly, we share our body with animals. But having spent so much time on model systems, I am ready for a look at humans.
Jay,
Interesting point about digital surrogates. There’s an active business creating and selling avatars for Second Life, for example.
Birgit I have been thinking what to write for while in responde to this post… I don’t always comment but it doesn’t mean I don’t read it!
Well Bacon is one of my least favourite painters and to be honest the figure doesn’t have any gracious movement at all compared to the others… his paintings are always so unflatering!
I really like looking at the two posters at the bottom…
Angela,
There is something about about this Bacon that I find compelling. I like the way the skin tones resonate with the curtain.
I am not surprised that the artist of the Gym and Dance Academy Murals in Portugal – http://motherangel.blog.pt/2116050/ – enjoys Blanche Calais-German and Eric Franklin.
I am learning anatomy from her and Eric Franklin’s books – Dance Imagery, Conditioning for Dance, Dynamic Alignment through Imagery. Franklin trained as a dancer and now is part of the ‘body culture’ movement. I took an afternoon workshop with him in NYC. He is fun.
I also like the Bacon. In an echo of the discussion on the following post, I often find the mysterious as compelling as the beautiful. And the textural qualities, especially the play of light on the figure and curtain, reminds me of what I was just photographing along Sourdough Trail.