ICA Boston

Be Different

by Abigail Cote

“Go beyond the application of paint to a canvas using a brush by diversifying the components of its production and presentation…” This is written on a wall at the ICA museum. To reiterate, come up with any way to paint other than picking up a brush, painting a flower and waiting for it to dry. Artists are inspired to paint outside of the box, if that’s what is different.

     A painting called Monet’s Salon by Mickalene Thomas captures the idea of changing things up. She redefines the whole process of painting. First, she takes a photograph, then cuts up the photograph and rearranges the pieces into a collage. She uses this collage as a model and paints a new piece using acrylic, oil, and enamel paint. She also adds rhinestones; this gives it an elegant texture.

     This piece is exciting but bothersome. The way the collage is organized irritates the mind because the pieces obviously don’t go together. However, there is also a realistic feel, nothing is random. The chairs are on the ground and the windows on the wall. It’s like puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly any postion that they are placed.

     The inspiration behind this piece is curious. Why would someone decide to take a picture, cut it up, rearrange the pieces, paint, and then add rhinestones? To start off, Thomas came up with the idea after spending time in the house and garden of Claude Monet. The result of what she did resembles the original space. Thomas’s career started with portraits of African-American women. She has always used the jewels. In her portraits they outlined jewelry that the subjects wore and this feature got carried over to when she started to do paintings of rooms.

     Different things attract people’s eyes. When it comes to creating art this is what you want. Monet’s Salon definitely receives a lot of attention. Hopefully this style of art continues to inspire other artists to try something new and receive attentions for their differences.