"Artists pick over culture, seeking to comment, define and reinterpret whether or not this relates to another cultural background or gender, or an interest in repositioning through juxtaposition, contrast and depiction."

Authors Avatar

Rebecca Draheim

 Exam Block Essay

“Artists pick over culture, seeking to comment, define and reinterpret whether or not this relates to another cultural background or gender, or an interest in repositioning through juxtaposition, contrast and depiction.”

An artist looks at culture, picks something out and responds by remaking it. They look at the object, putting it side by side and reinterpreting it. By looking at culture artists are able to respond to it as a theme of ‘Precious Things’ as a result of their cultural background by delving into their own culture. ‘Like everybody else, artists are affected and influenced by their personal and cultural backgrounds’therefore, linking their intent to Precious Things. Through time and experimentation, artists have expressed their views of culture clearly with their art.

For many centuries, artists throughout the world have aimed to capture and portray a particular theme or subject in accordance to their cultural beliefs, personal influences or moods. “An important part of visual language goes beyond the written word to the visual and performing arts, for they communicate in a less obvious and structured way the personal concerns of the artist as a member of a cultural group and therefore speak in a direct way to others, feeding the human spirit, its goals and complexities.” Julie Rrap and Colin McCahon are two examples of artists who ‘pick over culture, seeking to comment, define and reinterpret.’  Their work relates to their cultural background and can be portrayed under the theme of ‘Precious Things.’  Julie has used the element of religion and her own naked body, as a symbol of preciousness whereas Colin McCahon is preoccupied with religious and moral issues that is precious to him. Both artists are able to look at culture and respond by remaking it from their symbols of preciousness.  

Join now!

Rrap’s artwork is conceptual in approach in the way that she works with concerned ideas. In her early work in the 1980’s she focused on the representation of the female body against the artworks of Munch, Degas and Rembrandt to try to challenge our ideas that have been formed from the way the female has been shown throughout art history. The preciousness of Rrap’s work is linked with the subject that she focuses on which is that of feminism.

Julie Rrap’s Christ of 1984, has depicted a Christ like figure in a way that illustrates her personal beliefs ...

This is a preview of the whole essay