Bea Arthur Naked, 1991 by post-modern realist John Currin
And then there’s Maude,
And then there’s Maude.
© 2007 – 2008, Nightcharm. All rights reserved. Nightcharm.com
November 23, 2007
12 Responses to 'The Last Word'
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And then there’s Maude,
And then there’s Maude.
© 2007 – 2008, Nightcharm. All rights reserved. Nightcharm.com
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What the fuck?
Well, if i wasn’t gay before…
fag-ulous!!
lol
This reminds me of an art instillation I had the good/bad fortune to see a number of years ago in ATL before they shut it down. It was Wilma Flitstone, Marge Simpson, etc. all in their starkers. It was pretty cool/creepy.
Worst part? No Betty Rubble!
think she really has nipples that big?
Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
She didn’t care if the whole world looked
Joan of Arc with the lord to guide her
She was a sister who really cooked
Isadora was a first bra burner , Aint ‘ya glad that she showed up
Oh yeah
And when the country was falling apart,
Betsy Ross got it all sewed up
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s Maude
And then there’s that Old conpromisin’ enterprisin’
Anything but tranquilizin’, Right on Maude!!!!
Actually, I sort of like this caracature of Bea.
Here’s a gallery of a few more Currin paintings. Take it for what it’s worth. (link)
I agree, Sam. When I first saw this, I thought it was outrageous. That’s why I put it up as a Last Word — no further comment was necessary.
But the more I look at it, the more I see the dignity of the portrayal. Its initial camp impact evaporates rather quickly. Rather than a send-up of a celebrity, what we see here is a woman in her maturity; these are her breasts. The simple directness of it disarms me. I see the figure as human, fragile, subject to the weight of time — touching, in short.
For comparison, see Matthew Stradling’s portrait of his naked father (toward the end of the entry.) The impact is at first stark, almost too much so. But the human and the fragile eventually take over: then, we see simply the body in time.
It reminds me of that arresting line in Hamlet when the queen tries to cheer up her son, who has become morose over his father’s death.
“All that live must die,” she reasons, “passing through nature to eternity.”
I always thought she was really cool. Name a series today that features a ballsy, quick-witted lady like her, or God forbid, a group of women in their 60s with active sex lives. The botoxed caricatures of “Desperate Housewives” are considered “ground-breaking”. Yeesh.
They couldn’t pull off a sensible pants suit, much more break ground.
Exactly what you said, John, to the letter. The camp evaporates and the soundless dignity of the figure remains. Matthews figure is similiar…although a bit different because he’s totally nude, (and reproductive organs suggest something different than secondary sex characteristics). Still, there is the unadorned nudity, the simplicity, the maturity, the unpretentiousness and resoluteness.
And Gry, I agree. There’s just no comparison, unfortunately. At the time of Maude, I thought that was the beginning of something, but really it was the closure of an era and an attitude. Sigh.
EEEEEEEEEEW…make it go away and would it kill u to do some firming sheesh
The URL given for some of John Currin’s work has a painting called “Fishermen.” I don’t think I care for his portrayal of people (although he is a very good artist), but this one is just beautiful.