Comparing A Subtlety And France's King Louis

1. Both works consume a large area with their volume and size and are very valuable due to the resources used to create such works, to add to their grandness. Conceptually, both works are quite different. With A Subtlety, the work was a political piece about slavery and exploited labor, in both the historic and modern world (depending on how one interprets it). On the other hand, Puppy disassociates itself from politics and social issues, as it was intended to be for a castle in Germany, or to please a Rococo King, such as France’s King Louis. The happiness that it expresses through the flowers covering the body, and the fact that the model is a puppy, add to this idea of a Rococo inspired work. Both works look back into history and explore
Both works have hidden meanings and purposes, yet Puppy has many more layers to unpack. Puppy can be used as a pleasure piece, a representation of the life cycle (the flowers continue to change the longer the art remains), a symbol of friendship and loyalty, or it could be a symbol of protection. Therefore, Puppy, in my opinion, is more post-structuralist in this regard due to its multiple meanings and hidden layers. However, this does not mean that A Subtlety, lacks meanings. It is quite the contrary, with the woman in a sphynx to represent Egyptian slave labor and architecture, the completely sugar/molasses crafted children creating unbearable odors and conditions, to represent what forced laborers face around the world and throughout history, or the name A Subtlety, being derived from sugar sculptures created to depict royalty and nobility. Only these people could access or eat these
When compared, both artworks’ meanings begin to change. Subtle connections could be made between the two works and their obvious and subtle meanings. A Subtlety depicted sugar laborers working for the nobility and royalty of society and Puppy’s conception came from Koon’s thinking about the Sun King (Louis XIV). The common theme of royalty and higher ups could be made between the works. A comparison can also be made with the arts of how the works are changing in time. When the display was open, A Subtlety’s sculptures, namely the sugar children were melting and changing, which is something Walker wanted to happen. With Puppy, the flowers would change with the time/seasons as the flowers would bloom and decay with time, adding to the life of the work. These are only few of the many similarities that can be detected and compared once these two works are put aside on