GOYA  

THE NAKED MAJA

Goya apparently didn't have a good look at the real naked Maja. Something in the perspective is off. The chest area and shoulders are not right. Some claim that he never saw the naked woman and reconstructed her nude body after his painting "The dressed Maya". There were probably too many corsets?
 There is evidence to suggest that Goya's works, including "The Naked Maja," were scrutinized by the Inquisition. For instance, Goya's later work, The Caprichos, a series of etchings that satirized social and religious institutions, including the Inquisition, was censored by the Inquisition, and Goya was questioned about his intentions behind the works.

JOSEPH BEUYS  

DAS RUDEL (THE PACK) 

 "The Pack" is a installation, created in 1969, which consists of a VW Bus and a group of  wooden sleds, each containing felt, grease and a flashlight. The materials used in "The Pack" are significant in Beuys' artistic practice. Felt was a recurring material in his work, representing warmth, protection, and transformation. Fat, on the other hand, was symbolic of energy and nourishment and the flashlight for security and orientation. Together, these materials conveyed Beuys' interest in the regenerative and transformative powers of art, as well as his belief in the healing potential of art in society. 

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

I HAVE BEEN TO HELL AND BACK. AND LET ME TELL YOU, IT WAS WONDERFUL.

Bourgeois often used textile materials to give her sculptures  a human form. These sculptures are works of emotional expressions where you can discover comfort and hell and of course beauty. A very intimate look into  the creative process of  her wonderful mind.

I would have loved to participate  in one of her legendary sessions in Manhattan in the 90's where artists showed their work to get her opinion.
It was a real challenge I was told. 

ALLEN JONES

TABLE SCULPTURE

This work  was created in 1969 and is part of a series of works by Jones that are often referred to as "furniture sculptures" or "fetish sculptures." The work depicts a mannequin of a woman dressed in lingerie and positioned in a suggestive pose, serving as a functional table. The sculpture has generated controversy and criticism for its objectification of women and portrayal of female bodies in a sexualized manner.  
Of course it was a scandal then, almost a revolution .  

There a rumors Stanley Kubrick used this work in his movie "A Clockwork Orange" against the will of Jones. 

PHILIP GUSTON

SHAME ON YOU*

 
The decision to cancel or postpone the exhibitions of Philip Guston's artwork was made by the following institutions and their directors in 2020:

National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., United States: Kaywin Feldman, Director
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, United States: Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund, Director
Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, United States: Gary Tinterow, Director
Tate Modern in London, United Kingdom: Frances Morris, Director

These institutions, along with their respective directors, jointly announced the decision to cancel or postpone the exhibitions in September 2020. They cited concerns about the imagery in Guston's paintings, particularly the depiction of hooded figures reminiscent of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members, as the reason for the cancellations. The decision was made in response to the ongoing debates around race, identity, and social justice, and concerns about potential misinterpretation or offense caused by the KKK imagery in Guston's work.

*These people are  scumbags  that use cancel culture to decline one of the greatest American painters who is also Jewish the recognition he deserves. And show us the pathetic state of today's engagement with art in many parts of our Western society.

The time. The shoes, The light, The smoking, The KKK

DALI

 DALIS BEARD
Poem by ChatGPT

Oh, Dali's beard, so famously grand,
A surreal masterpiece, a work so planned.
A mane of artistry, a statement bold,

A symbol of creativity, untamed and bold.
Like a wild brushstroke on his canvas face,
A masterpiece of facial hair, out of place.
Twisted, curled, and pointed with care,
A surrealist creation, beyond compare.

A living sculpture, a living dream,
A whimsical wonder, a creative theme.
With wax and care, it's shaped just right,
A work of art, a surreal sight.

Adorned with objects, both strange and rare,
A lobster or a flower, perched with flair.
A playful touch, a touch of wit,
A beard that's truly one of a kind, a unique fit.

Oh, Dali's beard, a masterpiece of style,
A daring fashion, with a flamboyant smile.
A reflection of his artistic mind,
A symbol of his creativity, one of a kind.

So, let us raise a toast to Dali's beard,
A masterpiece of facial hair, never feared.
A surreal symbol of artistic might,
A testament to imagination's flight.

BASQUIAT

THE CROWN

In one interview, Basquiat stated, "I had a dream I was a king, and I woke up, and I still am." 

The crown became a iconic symbol in most of his works. It can be seen as a reflection of his own sense of identity and his exploration of Black culture, history, and African diaspora.

 The collaboration in the 80s between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat is a significant chapter in the history of contemporary art. 

WARHOL 

BANANA

The banana is often interpreted as a symbol of sexuality and has been interpreted in various ways, including as a reference to male genitalia, due to its phallic shape.
In any case, it graces the album cover designed by Warhol for the legendary debut record "The Velvet Underground & Nico" released in 1967. 
The banana in MamaBlue & the Freeki Muthafuckas also serves as a reference for the importance of music in the visual arts.

ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE

MAN IN POLYESTER SUIT 

Once the subject of a political firestorm, Robert Mapplethorpe‘s Man in Polyester Suit, a 1980 photo of the artist’s lover Milton Moore wearing a three piece suit with his penis exposed, sold last night (2015) at Sotheby’s New York for an impressive $478,000. (The presale estimate was $250,000–350,000.)

The image was part of Mapplethorpe’s “X Portfolio” series, which North Carolina senator Jesse Helms attacked in 1989 for its graphic depictions of same-sex relationships and bondage. The Southern politician was offended that the racy photograph had originally received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
(art.net_news)

ChatGPT:
Regarding Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph "Man in Polyester Suit," it is a portrait of a Black man wearing a polyester suit and a hat, as described in my previous response. It is a black-and-white photograph that captures the subject's appearance and expression, but it does not depict explicit sexual content, including male genitalia.
 

MARTIN KIPPENBERGER

FRED THE FROG RINGS THE BELL
(Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Casanova und Jesus: Der Gesichtsausdruck beim Nageln), 1990
Sammlung Falckenberg

 
The frog nailed to the cross with a beer mug in his hand caused a religious scandal, which is exactly what Kippenberger wanted to achieve with the sculpture. This kind of humor is an important part of Kippenberger's oeuvre.

SIGMAR POLKE

 In the late 1960s, Polke became interested in the space race and the Apollo missions, and he began incorporating images of astronauts and spacecraft into his work.

One example of this is Polke's painting "Astronauten (Astrologie)," created in 1969, which features a grid structure with each square containing a different image related to astrology, including several images of astronauts. The use of the grid structure in this painting helps to create a sense of order and organization, while also allowing Polke to juxtapose various images and symbols in a visually striking way.

In other works, such as "Astronauten, Kosmonauten, Zenon" (1973), Polke explores the concept of space travel and the idea of humans venturing beyond the confines of Earth. The use of the grid structure in these paintings helps to reinforce the sense of exploration and order, while also allowing Polke to create complex compositions that draw the viewer in and encourage close inspection.

JEFF KOONS

RABBIT

"The Rabbit" is a celebrated artwork created by American artist Jeff Koons. It is one of his most iconic and recognizable sculptures, known for its sleek and reflective appearance. Koons completed the artwork in 1986 as part of his "Celebration" series.

"The Rabbit" is a larger-than-life sculpture that stands approximately 41 inches (104 cm) tall and is made of stainless steel. It depicts an inflatable rabbit rendered in a highly polished, mirror-like finish. The sculpture's reflective surface creates an illusion of weightlessness and captures the surrounding environment, including the viewer, in its mirrored exterior.

I don't use the original glass mosaic for this image in Mama Blue to not put the always smooth and smiling Koons on the same level as the other artists. He got the cheaper acrylic glass.

DUCHAMP

THE FOUNTAIN

Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" is a iconic work of art that is often credited as one of the first examples of a "readymade" art object. Duchamp submitted "Fountain" to the Society of Independent Artists' first exhibition in 1917, but it was controversial and rejected by the exhibition committee.

Duchamp himself did not physically create "Fountain." Instead, he obtained it from a store. According to Duchamp's own account, he purchased "Fountain" from a sanitary ware company called J. L. Mott Iron Works, located at 118 Fifth Avenue in New York City. He supposedly signed it with the pseudonym "R. Mutt" and submitted it as his artwork for the Society of Independent Artists' exhibition.

"SEARCHING FOR DUCHAMP"
In the Canyons of Manhattan
Film by Nils Grossien

PICASSO

GUERNICA

 The horse in "Guernica" serves as a powerful symbol of suffering, victimhood, and the tragic consequences of war. It is a skull pierced by an arrow. A symbol that still has lost none of its power in our troubled reality.

RODIN

THE THINKER

*In 1884, the city of Calais decided to erect a monument in honour of Eustache de Saint Pierre and his companions (1347, Citizen of Calais) and, in 1885, commissioned Auguste Rodin to execute a bronze sculpture, based on a first clay model.  Although the model was ready for casting in 1889, it could not be executed until 1895 due to artistic differences and financial difficulties. Disagreements arose mainly over the question of the location. His original idea was to place it close to the viewer on a deep but impressive plinth.  The monument was finally mounted on a Gothic stone plinth of medium height, placed opposite the Jardin du Front Sud and unveiled on 3 June 1895. It was only after the artist's death, in 1924, that Rodin's idea of a low plinth was accepted and the plinth removed. Since 1945, the monument has stood in its present location in front of the town hall.

MAMA BLUE

VENUS OF WILLENDORF

The Venus of Willendorf is a small limestone figurine of a woman, discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a Paleolithic site near Willendorf, Austria. It is estimated to be over 25,000 years old, making it one of the earliest known examples of prehistoric art.

The figurine stands at just over four inches tall and is notable for its exaggerated female features, including large breasts, a rounded belly, and wide hips. Its face is featureless, with only small dots for eyes and no mouth or nose. It is believed to have been carved using flint tools and then polished using sandstone.

The Venus of Willendorf is now housed in the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria and has become an iconic symbol of prehistoric art and female fertility.