Egon Schiele Cardinal and Nun (Caress)
Schiele’s painting Cardinal and Nun (1912) is similar to Gustav Klimt’s Kiss. The contrast between the cardinal’s bare muscular legs, the nuns clothing and his bright red attire seems to reveal the sexual power of desire. Her posture and facial expression shows fear- almost as if it is a fear of being discovered, fear of the Cardinal or of sexuality in general.
I am exploring various ways of expressing of what I have found regarding my research. Here are some photos, sculpture and print.
Rodin’s The Kiss covered in a mile of string by Corneila Parker. A mile of string sheilds the lovers from view and binds them together at the same time.
Parkers contribution was inspired by Marcel Duchamp who once criss crossed a gallery with twine.
Marcel Duchamp Twine Instillation has generally been discussed in terms of separation and dislocation. The twine deemed as a dividing barrier.
Catholic nuns were required to wear linen breast binder under their outfits. The rationale was that binding the breasts of nuns would reduce distraction and encourage faithful obedience to abstinence.
Women have used binding to help them pass as a male in male dominated societies. Such as Pope Joan taking on the guise as a man to rise through the ranks of the Church.
In this particular work I have tried to capture the continious binding of the chest, it is rather like a never ending cycle, the monotony of something that has to be done in order to protect an Identity.
I think further expoloration into making a performance piece is becoming more interesting to me, it could be a work in progress.
Chest Binding by Julie Dodds. Music by Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) a female composer.
Although I am in various stages of experimenting and relooking at past ideas such as my video of the salt circle and print making, these seem to be on the back burner for the moment. So feeling the need to make something has lead me onto experimenting with various wire structures which I then project to create interesting wire drawings.
Just found this engraving of a pair of lovers by Master E.S from 1460. In the image, the man has discarded his very long left pattern, while she still wears hers. “Says it all, doesn’t it”.
(“patterns” are over shoes)
