Art Appreciation: Kiki Smith's Lying With Wolf
Mahmoud Hammad
06/14/2015
Art Appreciation
Throughout the career of Kiki Smith work, she’s assembled many themes into her artwork. Her work lying with wolf depicts a woman lying naked sensually with a wolf. Her work basically were themed sexually, spiritually, domestically, mythological, and religiously all pertaining to the famine side. On top of that, also forming a bond between human and animal.
Made between the years of 2000 and 2002, lying with wolf was one of those examples that flourished animal and human interacting between each other. She loved visuals, historical oral drawings that can share mythological stories including folk tale with clusters of meaning behind them.
The female figure she made in her artwork were based off little red riding hood, and other of her close associates like Saint Francis of Assisi. This resulted because of her close relationship with animals and the ability to domesticate wolves. One of her works have a woman walking out the stomach of a wolf made of a bronze sculpture. While as the the lying with wolf was seen as more intimated as they are affectionately cuddle with each other. The wolf assumed to be tamed, and share a tenderness moment in the drawing. …show more content…
To relate a point into the popular folktale in her work, a feminist approach was made to support her view on woman placement in the world.
An demonstrated her views through the vision of her art, through the relationship she bind together of visual, and narrative style. Now as the characters were depicted as companions they were actually also viewed as prey and predator roles. Showing some metaphors into human relationships. Then, she would also make political statements because it seemed like society had grant more power to men. Pointing out that inequality wasn’t fair, and feminist and men position should bind into
one.
Over the course of her career the linear, narrative part of her work started to diminish away. The list of diverse themes and practice did not seem to follow with her down her career. A different approach that seemed more fitting for her was working in circle and layer, to her was said was like “walking around a garden.”
Being the daughter of a sculptor and opera singer, she was used to living in a vibrant lifestyle. After being raised in New Jersey, it help her grow an imagination and historical background through her own thoughts and memory. This supported her themes and practices into her artwork that strongly appealed to her folk art and craft. Past the decades of 1980 she followed a past that would explore the human body through art. This would be in the form of human life form sculptures, emphasizing human vulnerability. One example of this work is the 1992 sculpture called blood pool which depicted a young form in the fetal position, other works went into details showing body fluids and injuries.
It wasn’t till after the 1990s where she started influencing her work through her uprising of religious belief. Connecting the body, spiritual values, and natural backgrounds all together. This truly made her work a one of the kind specular. She showed a connection between her love of animals and a relationship with humans while also intrigued into the wonders of reproduction and body fertility. Most of her work was a relationship between spiritual, human touch, memories, felinity, and animals.
06/14/2015
Art Appreciation
Throughout the career of Kiki Smith work, she’s assembled many themes into her artwork. Her work lying with wolf depicts a woman lying naked sensually with a wolf. Her work basically were themed sexually, spiritually, domestically, mythological, and religiously all pertaining to the famine side. On top of that, also forming a bond between human and animal.
Made between the years of 2000 and 2002, lying with wolf was one of those examples that flourished animal and human interacting between each other. She loved visuals, historical oral drawings that can share mythological stories including folk tale with clusters of meaning behind them.
The female figure she made in her artwork were based off little red riding hood, and other of her close associates like Saint Francis of Assisi. This resulted because of her close relationship with animals and the ability to domesticate wolves. One of her works have a woman walking out the stomach of a wolf made of a bronze sculpture. While as the the lying with wolf was seen as more intimated as they are affectionately cuddle with each other. The wolf assumed to be tamed, and share a tenderness moment in the drawing. …show more content…
To relate a point into the popular folktale in her work, a feminist approach was made to support her view on woman placement in the world.
An demonstrated her views through the vision of her art, through the relationship she bind together of visual, and narrative style. Now as the characters were depicted as companions they were actually also viewed as prey and predator roles. Showing some metaphors into human relationships. Then, she would also make political statements because it seemed like society had grant more power to men. Pointing out that inequality wasn’t fair, and feminist and men position should bind into
one.
Over the course of her career the linear, narrative part of her work started to diminish away. The list of diverse themes and practice did not seem to follow with her down her career. A different approach that seemed more fitting for her was working in circle and layer, to her was said was like “walking around a garden.”
Being the daughter of a sculptor and opera singer, she was used to living in a vibrant lifestyle. After being raised in New Jersey, it help her grow an imagination and historical background through her own thoughts and memory. This supported her themes and practices into her artwork that strongly appealed to her folk art and craft. Past the decades of 1980 she followed a past that would explore the human body through art. This would be in the form of human life form sculptures, emphasizing human vulnerability. One example of this work is the 1992 sculpture called blood pool which depicted a young form in the fetal position, other works went into details showing body fluids and injuries.
It wasn’t till after the 1990s where she started influencing her work through her uprising of religious belief. Connecting the body, spiritual values, and natural backgrounds all together. This truly made her work a one of the kind specular. She showed a connection between her love of animals and a relationship with humans while also intrigued into the wonders of reproduction and body fertility. Most of her work was a relationship between spiritual, human touch, memories, felinity, and animals.