Disabled Venus
The fourth plinth in Trafalgar square, London has found another controversal contestant. Is it a pregnant diasabled women, or is it our modern Venus?
The fourth [plinth] was intended for a King William IV statue, but a lack of funds meant it remained empty... But in 2003, mayor Ken Livingstone had backed a review group's suggestions that it should be used as an ever-changing display of artworks.
Is it a beautiful sculpture, a modern Venus? or just another controversal Brit Art provokation?
Sparkles by Sparkling at 7:21 am
5 Comments:
I don't find it at all attractive. It just doesn't appeal to me. That foot looks more like a hand ... attached to a forearm .... and not a proper foot or lower leg.
I have seen far more beautiful pictures of pregnant women and/or handicapped women.
Calling it controversial is playing the game.
To me it's a blah statue.
Maybe everyone will realise it was a classic in 50 years time. Maybe they won't. There's no way of telling.
The only controversial point is who gets to decide what statues we get to see and if any public money is spent on them. If the people doing the selection are sincere in what they select and there's no shenanigans going on with the spending I don't mind what gets put up and don't expect to like all of it.
The creating of a portrait of a handicapped woman by using the style of old roman or classic greek statues is aesthetically very interesting. Since those statues normally pursuit a completely different idea of beauty.
On top of that, the woman is pregnant. We normally don´t assume that handicapped people have a sex life, or playing a part in reproduction. In fact, handicapped people are seen as reproduction gone wrong,a loose end of nature. But this woman clearly isn´t a loose end. She plays her part and is proud of it.
I like that message, but if i would pass it on the street, i wouldn´t notice it very much, i think.
It's good when art provokes in a meaningful way. This statue does. At first glance it glorifies something that "normal" people usually want to avoid being confronted with.
And I must confess: It scared me! WHY THE HECK IT DO THAT? I am not sure. But it shouldn't. And that is why it is good that this statue exists.
Actually, it is a real woman in the UK, who chose to become pregnant even though she had this disabilty and everyone around her was against it.
She happens to be an artist herself. They did a documentary on her.
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