A painting walks into the room supported by the collector. It is the painting of a nude by a contemporary artist. She is scarred by shadows from venetian blinds. “The ritual scarification of light and shadow, ” I say. But am thinking, silently, the female nude is the self-ironization of the male. She, in his shadow, by design.Carla Harryman
About This Quote
In this quote, the artist is describing the work of an artist who was famous at the time. He is about to speak about their work and chooses this particular one to describe because it is meaningful, but he is also using this as a type of self-deprecating joke. The woman in the painting was not well-known and had never been exhibited before. The artist had only just seen the picture and was trying to describe it. He reveals that he was thinking about something else when he actually meant to be talking about the artwork itself, but exaggerates his previous statement so that it appears as though he is afraid that his audience will not appreciate what he has to say.
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