Assesment task

Contextual Studies Essay

Name: Laura Samson

Tutor: Bill

Word count: 446

The two artworks I have chosen to look at are Meret Oppenheim’s ‘object’ and Louise Bourgeois’s ‘woven child’.

Oppenheim’s ‘object’ was made in 1936, the object is a cup, saucer and spoon covered in fur. They are everyday, practical items transformed into something unusable; covered in a strange surface that you do not normally associate with a cup. I have found out that this surreal artwork was inspired from a conversation between Oppenheim and Pablo Picasso in a Paris café when he was admiring Oppenheim’s fur bracelet and remarked “that one could cover anything with fur,” to which she replied, "Even this cup and saucer." In 1936 a cup and saucer were in common use and associated with the upper class, covering them in fur made it intriguing, exotic and fun. Today, I think this piece of artwork could be interpreted as representing attitudes towards killing animals and using their fur for fashion; a china cup and saucer symbolizes civilization, covered in fur they represent man’s disregard for animals and using them unnecessarily. Also, cups and saucers are now outmoded and mugs are more commonly used as is synthetic fur rather then real fur and the hunting and killing of animals.

Bourgeois’s ‘Woven Child’ was created in 2002. It is a three-dimensional fabric naked torso of a woman with a baby in a woven blue ‘womb’ resting on her stomach. The way the baby is laying, curled in a fetus position on the body of the woman, could indicate distance and difficulties between mother and child. The baby appears to have been placed onto the woman in a disposable bag as if it is unwanted. The torso is made out of scraps of white material that look like bandages, randomly placed and stitched, which contrasts with the perfectly formed baby. This could symbolize the mother is damaged and imperfect however her baby is pure and innocent, without flaws. The crumpled blue ‘womb’ seems collapsed and uncomfortable for the baby this combined with the absence of the mother’s limbs makes the baby seem vulnerable and alone. 

Both pieces of artwork are emotive and powerful. They both have potential to create mixed emotions for the viewer as to what they mean and represent. A mother and child image is always a strong and enduring subject matter whereas a fur cup could be viewed on a very simplistic and fun level. I prefer Oppenheims’s ‘object’ because I think it is imaginative and fun; you wonder what it would be like to use it. The ‘object’ also provokes a more controversial response in the 21^st century.

Reference: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A4416&page_number=1&template_id=1&sort_order=1