Marc Quinn, self Flashcards
date
1991
subject matter
self portrait of artist, cast of quinns head
uses his body (10 pints of his own blood)
how did quinn use his own body
10 pints of his own blood, around same amount contained in an adult human body
time period produced over
20 years
what is it about
captures aging process and is about the pemporal nature/ transcience of life and the nature of change
connection to mortality
what is it reliant on an what is the message behind this
reliant on a built in refridgeration support system
suggests it will live on after quinns death (defies death and the concept of mortality)
however fact it is reliant on refridgeration system shows a theme of dependency of humanity (will decay if refridgerator is switvhed off)
relates to quinns dependency upon alcohol
formal analysis
life sized sculpture and plinth based off human proportions
highly polished base reflects viewer to themselves (idea of it being a self portrait of every man so they realise themes of deopendency and transience of life)
effect of polished base
highly polished base reflects viewer to themselves (idea of it being a self portrait of every man so they realise themes of deopendency and transience of life)
style
bio art, hyper realism
(unsettling, gives art a sense of consciousness and humanity0
effect of use of glass
makes head seem like a detached specimen (scientific element capturing the anatomy of human form)
expression
calm, closed eyes (mirrors death mask)
exemplifies idea of mortality- momento mori (inevitability of death)
link to quinns father
was a scientist- explains specimen like interpretation
link to quinns mother
mother was a potter (combines science of dad and art of mother)
use of mother and father profession
interweaves the two, identifies this with his background that created him- another link to idea of life and death and biological processes
interest in blood as a material link
links to his desire to exploreinterior and exterior of the body
process
20 years
blood was taken by a doctor over a period of 5 months and frozen to -70
barrier of silocone was used to stop blood disintegrating
how doe sthe sculpture sit
sits in a limbo- simultaneously alive and dead
real and ‘stimulated’- Jaklyn Babington
