Vedika Modi
In conversation with Gustav Klimt - a woman’s perspective
Prompt: The assignment was to create 6 artworks in dialogue with an artist/designer of our choice, whose work is ideally displayed at the MoMA.
Integrative Studio
Integrative Seminar
In this series, I take from the bold choice by Gustav Klimt to paint a pregnant woman in Hope II ( 1907-08), particularly intrigued by the feminist revolt it created within the context of its times. The contemplation of this outlook can be viewed at the core of this series. The series at large tries to create a commentary on contemporary women’s issues. Each collage repurposes different aspects of Klimt’s Hope II. The first focuses on the mesmerizing pattern, created by Klimt, made of circles, replacing each circle with a form of birth control. My explorations surrounded the effect of pattern on the reception of something being provocative. “What’s Taboo” is in its most basic form a breakdown on the effects of contextualization. The third collage uses the breasts in Klimt’s work and overlays and repeats it with President Donald Trump’s hands caressing each breast. It is backed up with quotes of phrases people have had cat-called at them. The fifth tackles the experience of women who have been arrested for mishandling their miscarriages. It is also a broader commentary of the lack of rights of pregnant women at large due to Roe vs. Wade. The sixth is addresses the victim blaming culture which has arisen in conversations about sexual assault and harassment. I chose to have my series look singularly at Hope II, as an attempt to have a more in-depth, multifaceted discussion rather than a more trite conversation using a range of his works. Through the series, I attempt takes the viewer on a journey through the daily controversies surrounding women and their bodies.