Alice Neel And John Currin Analysis

Identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Who we are as individuals is an enquiry into the obscure, as identity is a human construct, an adaption to ensure the survival of our species as a social being. “To be or not be? That is the question.” Shakespeare a renowned writer and think pondered this very idea, can I just stop being me? Build a completely new person to sail the same vessel? If one could capture their identity or that of another what would it look like and how would it take form? Which would be more true to the form a self-evaluation or that of another? Alice Neel and John Currin are both artist who take identity very serious in relation to their work. They use the idea of identity to push and shape their work and inspire them to take a different approach at times then other artist around them, earning them the recognition they have today. While they’re reasonings and methods of doing so are different they both boil down to one idea, the concept of the human condition. Well exploring this idea and attempting to …show more content…
Alice Neel produces portraits of the poor and varied races usually preserved for wealthy Caucasians. John Currin produces portraits of the old and perceivably ugly usually preserved for the beautiful. Another aspect that sets their work apart is the way they paint their work, the style they’ve chosen for their portraits. While Alice Neel had received an education in art, again it was during the time of the more abstract and while she opted to paint portraits you can certainly see the influence in her work. She throws proportion to the side in favor of a more expressive form. The disproportions in most pieces are not jarring, but rather add to the creation of that story she was looking to tell. It creates the character and captures at least her version of that