This review was written by an
independent reviewer. It does not necessarily represent the views of
the artist. It is included, unedited, except for minor grammatical
corrections, so that the
reader may understand how others have responded in words to these works
of
art.
I was very struck by the intensity of the colors you use in your work,especially in the Apple Segments, Blue Rivers, Purple Rivulets piece. I liked that one for the colors and its overall design. My mother is a college art teacher, and she will sometimes have her students arrange and glue colored pieces of paper as an exercise in balance and design. Apple Segments made me think of that assignment.
Two other pieces especially piqued my interest: the Cirrus Carcinoma and Breast. I am an English major, so I am also very aware of words. The title Cirrus Carcinoma caught my attention because "cirrus" is a type of cloud and "carcinoma," of course, is cancer; the connection between nature and cancer--especially breast cancer--is one that a lot women are concerned about. (Last year Chatham held the WASTE -Women Assessing the State of the Environment- conference in which they talked a lot about women's health issues.) Often where nature is polluted and/or exploited, so are women's bodies. The flower-like petals surrounding one of the breasts in Cirrus Carcinoma also made me think a lot about this nature-body connection. The image is also in red--a color very often associated with women's sexuality--and the implications of a flower (virginity) made me think this piece also spoke to certain sexual issues. The parts of women's bodies that often become cancerous are also the parts most desired by men, who do quite a bit of polluting the earth.
The simple lines in Breast seem to be saying (at least to me), "Here is a breast, pure and simple. This is all it is, and there has been so much fuss made about it." Of course, the signature of Isaac Falconer also raises some questions for me. It seems so layered and complicated-- the male name makes viewers wonder, "Is this breast being seen through the male gaze?" A woman taking on a male persona to address issues of women's bodies really makes me think (and that was your intent, after all).
©2002 Eileen Kinch
Eileen Kinch is an undergraduate
at Chatham College (a liberal
arts college) in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA.