The Art Of War Collage

The artist Paula Rego described her practice as a “form of revenge”. No wonder this concept would have such a therapeutic effect on the artist’s work process. Her statement can also be read as an act of justice; or truth; "would you like to try"? The main figure - a deformed fusion of bodies, majorly box fighters, squirting blood. An attempt to fragment Francis Bacon’s state of bliss? This being, although made of pieces, also has it’s identity. The clues lie in the backdrop. His/her mind, intentions, status, know how. The intellectual aspects of this character are reinforced: the monocle, the brush, the book, the “film camera, with it’s gaze pointing at us. A comparison could be established with Paula Rego’s statements, when mentioning that during her childhood, she was very rarely allowed to enter her parent’s living room and look at some of the books the family owned; under her father’s careful supervision. This is exactly what our cultural “parents” do today. A rare gaze into a forbidden world, ever more thrilling due to it’s inaccessibility. Whoever has a chance to look at their world, feels a sense of privilege. Many professionals in high ranking cultural positions have discourses long dead – they live a life dedicated to serving the power. Like their past counterparts, throughout the Centuries. They have been inserted into the media system. Many carry on the work of their predecessors, but in a far more complex, subtler manner. Their speculations have been raised on and on, with a new mask, a smile. It is the political power who backs these intellectuals. They are strategic specialists, appealing to other’s sentiments and emotions, through disguised nationalism, sense of justice, philanthropy, like any other type of media: TV, newspapers, magazines, the internet.. As long as it’ll sell; culture is reduced to success and economics. As Barbara Kruger said, "Whenever I hear the word culture, I take out my check book". What do these intellectuals feel behind their smiles? Which interior wars and conflicts are going on inside them, behind their studied poses? And what is our response to their posture? Which kinds of wars between the cultural community arise from these tensions? We are no longer in an all prevailing past, when no one could live and express freely. Why the need for these people? Are they the infiltrators who maintain our minds occupied with unimportant things, an attempt to prevent us from really looking at goes around the world? The importance of this work takes a different dimension, when it is taken into account the role of art: a mirror of society, past and present.

Collage:Paper on Cardboard

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:24 W x 29.1 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.