Where is the impostor?

 

Head of the Virgin by Emmanuel Tzanès
Painted in 1636 – 90
This painting reflects the Byzantine art period: whereby art was used for religious purposes only. In order to spread Christianity and communicate the stories of the bible, the orthodox church limited artistic imagination to spiritual iconography and representation of the Holy family in the form of mosaics, frescos, illuminated manuscripts and stain paintings in churches. Moreover, because the body was believed to be sacred, it could not be exposed in any way or form. For this reason, painting from direct observation of the human body and dissection were strictly outlawed, leaving the artists with only their imagination and religious knowledge. As displayed by Tzanès’ painting, this lack of knowledge about the human anatomy lead to unrealistic, two dimensional and static paintings, which lacked perspective and proportion. The “impostor” theme is hence found in the idea that this art work depicts an imprecise notion of human proportion.

Madonna and Child by Berlinghero

Madonna and Child by Filippino Lippi

A newborn baby reading? Fabrication or reality?

Whether this piece of work represents a bottle (as the title of the artwork suggests) has been the main questioning arising throughout my observation of the object. How can this be a bottle? The “fake” theme can be clearly found in the viewer’s possible disbelief in the sculpture’s aspect and representation. The fact that this object does not have finite lines and any form of containment proves to be relatively confusing and disorientating for the viewer. Yet, our uncertainty, as spectators, allows us to create our own, possibly false, interpretations. The first impression given to me by this artwork was that it illustrated a tornado. This is because of the chaotic and twisting nature of the work: which tricks the eye into perceiving a more dynamic body. This bottle seems motionless and transmits a sense of rapid vibrations. Other questions immediately sprang up in my mind: Because there seems to be no separation between the internal and external space of this bottle, could this sculpture actually depict the fusion of the environmental space and the space occupied by the bottle? Because this bottles seems infinite, does it represent also what we cannot physically witness?

My sketches and notes on: Development of a bottle in space by Umberto Boccioni, 1913
Medium: black pen and 2B pencil.

Helen Hughes Dulany
Coffe Service, 1934.

Persus with the head of of Medusa, Antonio Canova, 1804-6.

Unlike the Byzantine approach of depicting the human body, this marble sculpture is a great example of artists seeking “naked perfection.” However, does “naked perfection” exist? Is it realistic? This statue puts into light the almost obsessive attitude of the artist towards order and precision. Similarly to ancient greek sculptors, was Canova dissatisfied with realism? It seems as though he distorted the body in lawful ways in order to achieve our brain’s aesthetic response to it. With this radical new system, started with the ancient greek sculptor and mathematician Polyclitus, it was believed that artists could at last personify physical perfection. Was this the case? Although at first glance, this extremely imposing male figure resembles a human being, it is, in fact, not possible for a person, however athletic, to look like this. Antonio Canova’s Persus with the head of of Medusa is hence a great example of an impostor: whereby reality has been exaggerated, creating highly unrealistic bodies.

My study of Canova’s Persus with the head of of Medus.
In these sketches, I have tried to reproduce the intense detail in the depiction of muscle and shape and study how this technique can trick the spectator into believing the artist’s viewpoint.

Ugolino and His Sons, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1865-67.
Again, this visionary composition and over aggrandizement of the figures reflect the artist’s concerns with anatomical realism. We all know that it is impossible for a human body to reveal such an enormous amount of muscle through the skin: to have the skin draw tightly over every bone, tendon, vein and muscle.

Two Terms, 1538.

Bearded Male Term with Raised Left Arm (left); Female Term with a Strapwork Panel (right).

My sketches and notes on Two Terms and Bearded Male Term with Raised Left Arm (left); Female Term with a Strapwork Panel (right).

Where can we find bodies looking like Henry Moore’s “Reclining Nude” in the everyday life? Is it possible for people to look like this?

Heuben Haley, “Ruba Rombic” Glassware, 1928.
Here, the theme of “impostor” lyes in the contrast between the material used to manufacture these objects and the texture that viewer expects to feel when touching them. Although made of glass, the surface of this set of glasses seems delicate and easily crippled when held.

Can it be argued that imaginative abstract and figurative elements transmit a more “fake” reality than narrative compositions, whereby we can distinguish clearly the scene, the subjects and the shapes presented?

Head of a Woman, Pablo Picasso, 1933.
Clearly, Picasso is a great example of an artist who’s aim is to depict what the common eye can’t see and stimulate the artist’s curiosity. In Picasso’s paintings. we realize that Art does not depict truth. Where can we find a woman which looks like Picasso’s Head of a Woman? Nevertheless, such paintings make us realize truth: at least, the truth that we commonly or individually recognize.

Two Abstract Compositions, Carlos Mérida, 1936.

Two Abstract Compositions, Carlos Mérida, 1936.
This artwork clearly does not represent the visual reality, but could rather depict another human sense and emotion: perhaps linked to the pleasures of hearing music. This is transmitted by this almost lyrical and rhythmic composition of the illustrations.

Desert Bloom by Fazal Sheikh, 2011.
Does the photo on the right depict a finger print?

Jimmy “One eye” Collins After Arraignment, 1946, by Bill Wasilevich.

Why is “Jimmy” hiding from the camera? Is he an impostor? Is he trying to conceal his real identity? Through this photograph, Wasilevich could be trying to propose the medium’s (photography) interplay between dissimulation and revelation. What’s the function of photography? Does it expose reality? Or does it alter it by showing us only a section of the scene and omit the rest of the information?

Nude with Mask, Hat, and Fishnet Stockings, ca. 1936, by Paul Outerbridge Jr.

Shadow, New York City, 1966,  by Lee Friedlander.

Again, there is a somewhat fascination with what is hidden, obscure, or hitherto unseen in Friedlander’s and Outerbridge’s photographs. There is also a clear tension between publicity and privacy, that is, the simultaneous desire to be looked at and to evade the relentless gaze of the camera: two highly contradicting behaviors which could potentially deceive both the photographer and his viewers.

 

Conflict 23, 2003, by Lucas Samaras

Is the artist himself an impostor? Samaras achieved this piece of art by transforming the real world with today’s available technology (Adobe Photoshop for example).  Instead, he desires to propose to us his own world, and, in “Conflict 23”, the way in which he sees himself in relation to the environment. Is his notion of reality fraudulent just because it is, clearly, different from the common knowledge and facts of existence?

 

Albrecht Dürer’s rhinoceros.
Is this an accurate depiction of a rhinoceros? Do we often see such odd and varied textures in today’s animal kingdom?

Saucer-eyes cephalopod.

The “impostor” theme is, here, recognized through the unrealistic, excessively round pupils of the octopus. Was the illustrator trying to personify the animal or was in simply a misinterpretation of it due to the lack of information at the time?

Although beautiful and astonishingly detailed, the two illustration subject to analysis are highly unrealistic. This is because, before modern technology, encyclopedias and other sources of documentation depended on the eyes of the illustrators: who brought into their drawings their own interpretation (or misinterpretation) of the animals’ characteristics. The theme of “fake” approached by these two artworks can hence lye in their defied role: which is to inform the world of reality.

The above documentations of early permian and triassic creatures puts forward the conflict between reality and existence, and, fallacy. In each case, the distinction between the two notions becomes addle. In particular, the simple and very minimal layout of the figure (whether drawn onto a wall or three dimensionally shaped with metal) allows the viewer to recognize the animal more clearly. That is to say, ironically, the “fake” or artificial depiction of the animal appears more real than the authentic bone composition.

Tynarosaurus rex.
From a Christian point of view, the past existence of dinosaurs is discarded. Whether these mysterious creatures coexisted with humans and why there was no mention of it in the bible questions, their validity in history. Although there is proof of their presence in a particle period of time (through bones, teeth and fossils) it still remains difficult for some to accept a different interpretation of world creation to their own. Still today, such scientific discoveries have difficulties coexisting with faith and the genesis. Nevertheless, these two conflicting  realities raise a main inquiry: Is our knowledge of how the world functions affected by our most embodied believes? Does something become real once its existence can be proven? Are dinosaurs more “real” than people’s faith in the bible? Just because the stories of the bible cannot be confirmed by today’s scientific documentation, does this mean that Christianity is based on a fraudulent theory?Or does something become “real” once we believe it to be?

This illustrative documentation of different types of fish reflects the artists’ desire to embellish their work by rendering the subject unusual and hence, more entertaining and interesting. In fact, despite the illustration’s function (which is to inform about the characteristics found in certain aquatic animals), these figures, due to their imaginative colors and patterns, as well as their strange, human-like expression, seem to directly derive from the artist’s imagination.

The above illustration suggests, one more time, how illustrators wish to overstate reality in such informational and educational sources as encyclopedias. Does this drawing represent different types of flowers or a set of ctenophores (as denominated by the author/artist on this page)? Can this illustration be accepted as an example of an “educational impostor”? Does it betray its function and that of the encyclopedia?

Meteorites.

Although these images are part of a pedagogical document, its variation and richness in color and form, as well as its pop art-like installation , deceives the viewer into mistaking the depiction as a surrealist work of art. Yet, despite its emotionally abstract character, this establishment reflects one of the most accurate methods of documentation: the electron microprobe. Nevertheless, which do we believe in more, what our minds and memories recognize, despite them being affected by personal misinterpretation, or objective modern technologies?

Reality or representation of reality? The impostor theme can be here found within the idea of the installation itself: whereby it’s function is to fascinate the spectators into believing in the verisimilitude of the animals and the natural environments proposed, as well as the interactions between the two.