Leonora Carrington Study Course - 2 - Mexico
Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was one of the most creative of the Surrealist artists.
Her paintings are charming, intriguing, enigmatic, and sometimes impenetrable. She was working for nearly seven decades and her output was prolific, covering many topics and styles.
Adam McLean has created a seven-part study course on Carrington's work.
The Early Years
Mexico
Celtic
Esoteric and magical
Her map diagram
Humour, animals
Late works
Nowadays, it seems that most art historians drag an artist's work into the commentator's worldview. They ruthlessly press an interpretation onto the work, rather than letting it speak for itself. Adam McLean avoids recontextualising Carrington's art but instead provides background information that can flesh out the readers' appreciation of her paintings, point to the source material from which she drew, the internal links between the complex symbols and show the links between many of her works.
Providing an external narrative to an artist's work can be quite destructive, stealing the viewer's appreciation of a painting by assigning a meaning that was not within the motivation of the artist. Sadly, some art historians elevate themselves above the artist by encapsulating their work in a web of meaning, suggesting that they understand what lay behind the painting more than the artist herself did. This is the folly of Postmodernism, which has polluted art history, perhaps more than any other discipline.
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Thank you so much for posting these, they are invaluable. You are an excellent presenter. 👍🏼🌹
I am in complete awe.I've never seen most of these works.I've been a fan of Remedios Varo's work and Leonora's work is similar.I am now overflowing with inspiration to get back to my own work.Thank you so much! It is difficult to hear your narration due to the sound being low.But your programs are amazing!
Adam, thank you for this study course. I think you're right about the skyscraper and its number of floors and that the cubicle with the seven-eyed figure and the button must be a lift.
@AdamMcLean
6 жыл бұрын
It does make visual sense !
@AdamMcLean
6 жыл бұрын
There is a label on the button, but unfortunately I cannot read it in the image I have of the painting. I would like to know what it says.
@penelopecline4650
6 жыл бұрын
Further re. the painting 'Floor 4,706' at 11.13, I had a google to see if I could find a hi-res version, but without success. Looking again at the 'lift' though (if indeed it is a lift!), the right-hand wall apparently extends out into where the figures are and they seem to be examining this wall - as well they might because exactly where it joins the floor is by no means clear. And the left-hand wall of the 'lift' appears to have a opening. Having said all of the above I've just realized that the strange details I'm examining are as nothing compared to the strangeness of the white creatures...!
Her work looks very similar visually to Heironymous Bosch.What an amazing imagination she possessed!
Trying to rationalize what cannot be rationalized...