![]() ![]() While the lower and upper areas of the painting seem to suggest the high status of Guernica in the art world, the mass media references would seem, at first, to remove that status from English’s contemporary variation. Lastly, a thin bar of clouds expands across the top of the painting. He even affixes a photographic portrait of Picasso into the middle section as a way to commemorate the modern master. ![]() The middle and upper areas are consumed by colourful comic images that English has muted by repainting them in black and white paint to fit the traditional greyscale scheme of the iconic image. A bar of photographic transfers depicting a bird’s eye view of a cityscape stretches across the lower third of the painting. ![]() Similar to his other work, English embeds other material into the background of this piece as well. The painting that is currently installed at the Lazarides gallery contains skeletal portrayals of the original characters, each reproducing their long-standing gesture of war-torn trauma. Throughout his career, English has repeatedly appropriated Picasso’s Guernica (1937), a subject he regards as a contemporary model in art making. While the viewer’s interpretation of this work may result in a rather ambiguous reading, the artist’s penchant for using comic illustration proves less satirical and more complex throughout the course of the exhibition. Some comic titles read Cowgirl, and Moon Girl, two strong female superheroes whom English may subtly relate to his hybridized Virgin Mary. While the supernatural green and blue shadows underscore her holy rank, the collaged backdrop of vintage comics and a 1950s brassiere advertisement brings this surrealist, yet high art totem down a notch. The cow, a popular motif repeatedly used by the artist, is now elevated from farm animal to sacred status. The Madonna is posed cradling a peculiar, magenta-coloured version of the infant Christ who desperately tries to latch on to one of Madonna’s udders. Her two breasts have lost each nipple, but have gained eight teats. ![]() The seated female nude has the bodily attributes of a woman, but sports a feminized cow’s head. The artist reinvents the devotional image of the Madonna and Child by replacing the former with a human-cow hybrid. English builds each composition using vintage advertisements and cartoon imagery, some of which are found material that he enhances with paint, while others he illustrates in meticulous detail. Portraits of historical icons like Marilyn Monroe, Ben Franklin and George Washington coexist with those of pop culture characters, Fred Flintstone and the Hulk in this exhibition. In his first UK exhibition, entitled Skin Deep: Post-Instinctual Afterthoughts on Psychological Portraiture, contemporary artist Ron English bridges the gap between high and low art by incorporating mass produced, low brow imagery into traditional high art subjects. It is not known if this form of transformation can replicate the storage properties of medallions as well, similar to capabilities of Totems.Review by Mallory Nanny, a candidate for the MA in Art History at Richmond the American International University in London Eastern dragons are highly magical, and are capable of flight without wings, as well as shapeshifting without the use of a medallion. Eastern dragons have also been mentioned, and at least one currently lives within the Liverpool Avalon, named Newton. However, the dragon most people tend to think of is the Western dragon, such as The Bloodcarver, who is exceptionally large, breathes fire, and is capable of winged flight. As of yet, only one Western dragon has been shown, but he has implied that he may not be the only living dragon specimen remaining.ĭragons are creatures of all shapes, sizes, elemental affinities - you name it. However, in Orientations this proved to be untrue. Western dragons and Eastern dragons(distantly related)Įxchanges: Part IV, page 34-35(the Bloodcarver)ĭragons from various cultures exist, with Western Dragons believed by many to be extinct. Eastern dragons lack wings and have more serpent-like bodies. All resemble large reptiles with talons, sharp teeth and skin covered in scales. ![]()
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