{ John Currin } =by: tyler ehrnschwender
Biography:
John Currin was born in 1962 in Boulder, CO. He received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA from Yale University. Currin now lives and works in New York.
(fishermen, 2000, oil)
(heartless, 1997, oil)
(lovers, 2000, oil)
(ms omni, 1993, oil)
(Park City Grill, 2000, oil)
(stamford after-brunch, 2000, oil)
(the producer, 2002, oil)Themes & Style:
John Currin's paintings seem to depict a lot of happy women with large breasts. Some would say his work is nothing close to politically correct. And yet, on closer inspection, his representation of women isn't so clear-cut.
Currin depicts a bizarre and very American world of ageing divorcees, 70s pin-ups and cliché gay couples. He depicts the falsity of TV culture and dishes it out to the viewer. It is as if Currin wants viewers to feel uncomfortable and to enjoy it.
His work draws upon a broad range of cultural influences that include Renaissance oil paintings, 1950s women's magazine advertisements, and contemporary politics.
( the pink tree, 1999, oil)Analysis:
The Pink Tree is very interesting to me due to the proportions that Currin chooses to use. The two girls depicted have very slender and slightly elongated limbs while having plump bellies and breasts as well. They are very fair skinned and almost glow against the dark background, which really allows them to pop out at you. Their pose and style really makes me think of the renaissance and the paintings of that time.
Personal Response:
I like John Currin’s work for he seems to try and catch the reality of people and how things are not always perfect. Everyone is a little messed up and that’s ok, they still look good and are having a good time. His use of proportion really stands out to me, I really like the slender elongated forms that he uses a lot, especially in the women, as well as other exaggerated bodily features to add emphasis on the character of the painting.
I was only able to see his works completed, and only his painting work. I would of really liked to of found some of his sketch work to see how he comes about getting to where the paintings end up.
I enjoy Currin for his lighthearted look at the disasters of personal social life and the enjoyable depiction of it.
posted by kurt nicaise @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
3 Comments:
Currin's proportions are certainly very interesting...The legs of the women with the pink tree are really slender and seem rather "normal" and in correct proportion, but yet their entire mid-section is much larger. Is he just trying to draw attention to their stomachs and make a comment on fertility or is it something else? I can certainly see the similarities his work shares with that of the Renaissance, as well as the social commentary.
Wow, all these examples are so different from one another! I would think that an artist would have a certain style, but Currin's style seems to change from elongated figures to lifelike to lumpy (the best way I could describe it). Yet I really enjoy these pieces of art. They're very colorful, and even somewhat humorous in their disproportion.
I love Currin’s work, I feel like I've met a lot of those poeple in life. Sometimes in spirit and some of them "in person".
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