La femme aux...

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on April 29, 2013 at 9:50am

Curator’s Comments:

 

This is a very intriguing suite of photographs; beguiling, but slightly strained. They strike me as having a boudoir self consciousness that challenges our ideas about privacy, intimacy, beauty and seduction. The sharp focus and direct stare of the female subjects both empowers them, while indistinguishable costuming strips away personal identity.  They seem to function collectively as an idealized muse, or bejeweled odalisques.  My favorites in the portfolio are La femme aux Camelias, III and Lady Victoria Rondo.  Camelias’ physical frame beautifully suits the verticality of her image.  The ‘s’ curve of her torso and head is elegant and sinuous; while the warm color of her skin and hair appears to echo the (flocked?) wallpaper in the background. She is confident, but slightly coy, presenting her body to us while simultaneously holding/possessing herself with her ringed hand.  This conflicted psychology presents an ideological striptease- releasing and exposing, while surreptitiously holding back.  I like that the large flower in her hair offsets the tilt of her head- and visually aligns with the rest of her body. Lady Victoria is similarly suited to the formal shape and color of her portrait.  The roundness of her face and head frames the tondo photograph, creating a voluptuous play on curvilinear form.  She also seems to restrain herself at the same time she leans forward, drawing the viewer into the picture plane, and holding us there.