Comments on: Collection Rotation: Maria Naula

By: Emil Guyot

Emil Guyot — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:47:40 +0000

What strikes me about many ofl these pictures is shadow. The artists seem to have taken the shadow to a finesse of observation that creates the mystery that Vance Maverick talks about. In the Yves Klein it is as though the shadow is cast by the movement of people dancing. In the Francesca Woodman it is the shadow that emphasizes the indentation in her arm. In other places where there is no shadow there is something like it, mystery created by something else, and I admit that it is possible that the beautiful suggestiveness and eroticism of light that comes from a few of these pictures permeates them all, for me. In Irving Penn’s picture it is the legs beneath the sheet. A thoughtful and surprising bringing together of images.

By: twiceastammy

twiceastammy — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:18:30 +0000

the morandi has always struck me as palpable (i can almost feel the paint on my hands when looking at still life). this, in stark contrast to the tacita dean image of morandi's studio. the photograph places the objects on a stage, far from reach, contextualizing (biographically) the artist's eye within his studio. thank you for the post maria!

By: Peter Bradbury

Peter Bradbury — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:53:08 +0000

It was a shock to me, seeing the Hirsh (Seated Pubescent Girl): the covered is shockingly uncovered and she appears to have two ages, the weathered and the untouched. I have no desire to reach beyond what is actually there, to see anything but the body as it is, and those hands that seem to know what they touch.

By: Vance Maverick

Vance Maverick — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:47:11 +0000

Thanks for this! A whole lot of mystery going on here.

The Dean is a picture of Morandi’s props, in his studio — strange to see them with such sharp edges and strong tones.

The Maar is a trip — some of the mystery is cleared up at the work’s page.

For me the biggest mystery is Irving Penn — but not the sort of mystery that can be cleared up by a wall text. By rights (well, by prejudice), he ought to have been as glib as David LaChapelle or Annie Leibovitz. But somehow, in an atmosphere of the most mainstream success and ease of access, making coy jokes with pretty models, the photos came out great, individual and delicate.

With a couple of these (the Schoultz, the second Nauman (the blue inverted J) and the Hirsh), I don’t know how to get started. Perhaps Ms. Naula could add a comment or two?