Five Nudes in Pink and Blue
2019
Created in Photoshop, printed on paper
47 in x 33 in
Five Nudes in Pink and Blue is a creative response to Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. During Tessa’s experience in art and design school, she questioned the general reverence for many famous figures in the art world, and this piece explores some of the issues she finds with such idolization. Although Picasso is seen as a “revolutionary” figure within art history, many of his concepts and techniques are drawn from pre-existing sources. His cubist experiments were significantly inspired by a fascination with African tribal and ceremonial art. When he created Les Demoiselles, the response in European communities was simultaneously shocked and awed. The painting depicts five nude women, who we know from the title, are sex workers. Audiences were dismayed and appalled by the idea of representing a sexualized female form in such an angular way. Later, people lauded the work as “revolutionary” and “visionary”.
Tessa aims to draw attention to Picasso's appropriation in her reinterpretation. She examines the way Picasso divides up the female form, isolating each part and color. By re-organizing and recontextualizing each piece, she allows for a sense of peace and contemplation, encouraging the viewer to re-examine their relationship with the piece.
