The body
The body has been used in the context of art for many years and has been the blueprint for many artworks across the globe for many artists. I’ve looked at the many different ways artists have approached creating art using the theme of the human body The body can help represent gender, race and our identities as a whole. The artists i’ve looked into use the body form to communicate different messages. Art using the body form has been around for centuries as it is very accessible to us, but it has evolved as 3d sculpture, photography and even holographic imaging. We also explore more with the uses of colours, textures and the abstraction of the body.
Kiki smith
Kiki Smith is an contemporary artist mainly self taught known for her artworks that look at the representation of the human body as a whole. She also looks at the mortality, flesh and the insides of the human body. She includes all the fluids such as the puss, blood, bodily waste and organs inside and uses all those components to create her final artworks. I find it disgustingly beautiful because she uses all the bad and ugly parts that our body produce in the wonderful temple that we call our bodies. She also uses her work to tackle big topics such as the Aids epidemic and abortion rights. She is most famously known for her sculpture but also does some drawings, printwork and paintings.
antony gormley
Antony Gormley is a British sculptor who most commonly uses solid materials to create sculptures in forms of the human body some more realistic than others. He plays around with the structure and scale. His most commonly well known piece Angel of the north which stands at 20meters. A lot of his early work the subject of his human pieces are of himself. He doesn’t look at the body as an imminent object but as a body in the real world in real time.
Each artist responds to the theme of body differently but they all focus on the body. Joan Semmel and Kiki Smith both represent the body as they are not trying to make it beautiful or perfect but looks at the imperfections. Their work also portrays the bodies in different positions like the fetal positon. Kiki smith and Antony Gormley also have links in their art work as they both work with 3d art.