Abstract
Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus has been entrenched in popular culture for generations, so much so that the Victoria & Albert, South Kensington ran an exhibition entitled Botticelli Reimagined from March 5th to July 3rd, 2016. This exhibition–and its accompanying materials–demonstrate how this work has played an important role with artists and in popular culture since its creation (Victoria & Albert 2016, par. 2). Additionally, the use of classical myth is long-standing in art and continues into the twenty-first century to be a potent locus for contemporary artists (Cahill 2018; DiStefano 1998; Doherty 2001; Hardwick 2011; Hedgecock 2020; Squire, Cahill, Allen, Welch, and Levett 2018; Wallace and Hirsch 2017). This paper unpacks how such contemporary women artists as Rineke Dijkstra (b. 1959), Yin Xin (b. 1959), Angela Strassheim (b. 1969), Tomoko Nagao (b. 1976), Harmonia Rosales (b. 1984), and Flóra Borsi (b. 1993) appropriate Botticelli’s rendition of classical myth, using key trends in contemporary art’s application of classical myth as “meaning,” “medium,” or “method” to transform ideas about gender and identity (Wallace and Hirsh 2017, 10-12).
Presenters
Dena GilbyWalter J. Manninen Endowded Chair for Art History, Fine Art, Endicott College, Massachusetts, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Classical Myth, Contemporary Art, Women Artists
