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- Do they look like real women to you or not? What is it about them that makes you think this?
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Calum Colvin
Venus Anadyomene (after Titian)
1998Calum Colvin constructs three-dimensional sets from everyday household objects, which he paints images upon and then photographs. He re-interprets Titian's 'Venus' in a new and very exciting way. "What I wanted to do with it was look at the narrative behind it, the idea of Venus rising from the sea - the birth of Venus - and to make my own version of this image, which would refer to photography and to the notion of creativity, given that the story really is about creation". Colvin's creative stimulus is therefore literary as well as artistic. Like Titian, his point of departure is an ancient story about the goddess of love, as well as an artistic representation of the ideal female form.
This photograph was commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland and is based on Titian's painting of the same name, which is owned by the National Galleries. Colvin's work was created by painting onto a specially-created three-dimensional set, which was then photographed to create a two-dimensional image. The objects in the set, such as shells and photographs of people in the sea, reflect elements of the original painting. Colvin brings his Venus up to date with a twist ? behind her left eye is a camera on a tripod, so the observed subject of the image is also the observer.
- Glossary (1 term)
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Commission
Commission
When an individual or organisation employs an artist to execute a particular project, the process and the resulting work are termed a `commission?.
Calum Colvin was born in Glasgow and studied art in Dundee and London, before coming to prominence in the mid-1980s. His early interest in sculpture led him to develop his unique style of 'constructed photography', creating small sets from everyday objects to resemble domestic interiors. More recently he has used digital technology to generate images that often ask uneasy questions about what makes one truly Scottish. He has exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States and has worked on a number of commissions by the National Galleries of Scotland.
- Glossary (1 term)
- Open
Digital
Digital
Applied to images or image-making equipment that uses computer technology.
- Credits Presented by the photographer 1999
- Medium Cibachrome colour photograph
- Size 101.00 x 76.00 cm
- Do they look like real women to you or not? What is it about them that makes you think this?
- What words can you think of to describe the women depicted in these art works?
- Which Venus do you find the most beautiful - and why?
- How do these art works compare to modern images of beautiful women?
- Who would you say has "goddess status" today, and why?
- Who do you think would have owned these works of art when they were made and where do you think they would have been displayed?
- How does the lack of eye contact with most of these Venuses make you feel when you look at them?
- Why do you think that artists such as Titian were so interested in ancient art and literature?
- Why do you think artists have chosen to portray female nudes so often in the past?
- How do the twentieth-century Venuses compare to the older ones?
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- ? Calum Colvin
