Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Talent Today-Artist Spotlight
SERENA COLE, Oakland CA
Even her name evokes images of a dark fantasy and
Serena Cole’s work lives up to this ideal. Her paintings depict the intricately detailed faces of beautiful woman-there are eyes are red rimmed and puffy and there is a definite Klimt-like inspiration behind the elements surrounding them-the flora & fauna head-dresses, gold backdrops and fish-scale hats. Her art is clearly rooted in fashion but branches out to embrace fine art as well. I am obsessed with modern and classical ideals of beauty- the differences and the changes-especially as what is in and out in beauty changes as quickly as the models age- classic, androgynous, curvy, waif, alien, baby. Therefore I love the uncomfortable nature of Serena’s work, the basis on the female face and the contrast between the beauty of nature and the uncertainty of the turning world.
'Death Is Not The End'
'Death And Vanilla'
'The Golden Age of Despair'
“In today’s Western society, I see no real heroes or idols to emulate. Instead there is a decadent escapism from a darkening future with war, environmental deterioration, and chemical warfare on the horizon. We have replaced our idols with pop culture. Searching through fashion magazines and images on television, it appears that unattainable, inhuman images of beauty and elitism have come to sedate our senses. We are devoted to these images, which do not serve as distinguishable personalities, but as a revered brand of idealism that relieves our fears of mortality and destruction of apocalyptic proportions.
In my work, I use images of attractive figures from fashion magazines to illustrate the haunting themes beneath our worshiped fantasies. In many images, there is layer of beauty and seduction which leads the viewer to desire something. Upon deeper inspection, however, these models are often sickly, androgynous, or posed as if they have been beaten or are half dead. My work is inspired by the psychological implications of what fuels our desires and insecurities. I intend my images to be seductively beautiful, but also slightly uneasy to look at. I think of these drawings as icons of our ideals, and also of our inhuman aspirations.”-
Serena on her own work.
'Blessed End'
'Hiver'
'The Gilded Throne'
'The Carnivorous Age'
The Coveted’s Jennine interveiwed Serena here: http://thecoveted.blogspot.com/2007/05/inspiration-serena-cole.html
Labels: Art, Moi
Published 10:56
2 Comments:
this is wonderful!
and no, i don't have any suggestions really, just keep doing what you are doing ;)
Hi, thank you so much! What a great compliment.
My name is Jasmin but I've always liked boys with girls' names and names that end in -ie.
I'm an insomniac. I like to stay up late to watch the sky change from blue to black to beige and blue again. I'm a critically indecisive realist whose in love with the little things. I enjoy writing lists and schedules but never stick to them. I want to learn to do a million things like speak Swedish, play guitar, skateboard, hula hoop and play poker. My mind is always turning over a million things but I am a simple girl and I never ask for much. I'm a typical nerd and I'm excited by fashion, photography, books, ideas and theories.
I could pour through books and magazines until my eyes dribbled down my face in a torrent of glitter and sequins. It's true.
I like to paint what I write, write what I think and photograph what I see.
"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I've ever known."
Chuck Palahniuk, INVISIBLE MONSTERS