SUSAN J. BARRON
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THE REDEFINITION OF THE FEMININE IDEAL

This work stands at the crossroads of the female body where Titian stops and technology takes over. The classical images of female beauty as defined for centuries by masters from Leonardo to Ingres,  give way to a redefinition of the feminine ideal, as defined by TV, magazines and plastic surgeons. 

The confrontation is brutal in concept but sensual in execution. Lush classical oil-on-canvas techniques merge with the nomenclature of medical technology as the muses of the great masters are marked for surgery. Like topographical maps, the calligraphy of surgical markings hover as a secondary visual language, a transparent layering of redefinition though which the original definition is still read. 

These paintings are vivid roadmaps to a new female beauty, produced at will. While the notion of beauty differs regionally --the West coast surgeon’s ideal is different from New York’s -- the result is an obsession of conformity. While the pursuit of medical detail is relentless and chilling in these paintings, these works retain a classical beauty and sensuality, while enduring a biting social recontextualization of form.


Picture
Mona Lisa Redefined
48 in x 72 in  Mixed Medium on Canvas

Picture
The Three Graces Redefined
​
36 in x 68 in  Mixed Medium on Canvas

Picture
Venus Redefined 
​
36 in x 68 in  Mixed Medium on Canvas

Picture
The Birth of Venus Redefined
48 in x 72 in  Mixed Medium on Canvas

Picture
Sisters Redefined
​
48 in x 72 in  Mixed Medium on Canvas

  • Home
  • Darkness and Light
  • Series
    • Darkness and Light
    • Depicting The Invisible
    • Conversations
    • The Redefinition of the Feminine Ideal
    • In/Human Condition
  • Podcast
  • Documentary
  • About
  • Depicting The Invisible
  • Photo Gallery
  • A Table for the Fallen
  • Exhibitions
  • PRESS
  • Contact