EMMA VARGA: NATURA MORTA
How can still lifes live on in contemporary photography? Can they be used to address current problems? Can they still be of lasting value in the 21st century? In my work, I sought to answer these three questions.
Still lifes appeared in art centuries ago, with the first realistic still lifes dating back to the 16th century. One important sector of European art in the 16th and 17th centuries was Flemish painting, which became particularly prominent in still life painting, for example through the works of Jan Brueghel. These paintings carried a meaningful, allegorical message, often depicting death and passing in vanitas still lifes, symbolised by candles, hourglasses and skulls, thus drawing attention to the fragility of life. At other times, they were inspired by religious themes (atonement, passing away, resurrection) or even by stories drawn from everyday life. By the 19th century, the purpose and interpretation of still lifes had changed, and their popularity declined as artistic trends changed. Painting and perceptions of art were transformed, and the emergence of photography had a significant impact on the development of both art and still life as a genre. Because photography is capable of reproducing a scene in rich detail and with accuracy, the purpose of painting has been transformed. Impressionism and modern art movements focus on perception, the representation of light and colour, what it means to paint, what it means to see, what it means to see something. Some photographers, such as Adolf Braun, experimented with still life as early as the 19th century, but these images seem more like curiosities than works of artistic value to today's eye.
Contemporary art reinterprets still life, not only as an aesthetic experience, but also as a tool to convey social and cultural narratives (e.g. critique of consumerism, raising awareness of ecological problems), and the message of classical still lifes, although placed in a modern context, remains eternal. One example is Chris Jordan's project titled Midway, which depicts extinct albatrosses, showing the plastic waste that has accumulated in their stomachs. Still life is more than a static composition: it is a dynamic narrative, taking on new meanings over time. Contemporary artists such as Mat Collishaw, Wolfgang Tillmans, Laura Letinsky and Péter Puklus are shaping their still lifes around these ideas, using them to reflect on issues in the modern world.
The grotesque – which we (Hungarians) know well from the writings of István Örkény, for example – appeared in art as early as the 15th century, when interest in the ornamental decorations found in ancient Roman grottas was growing – it got its name from the fusion of the Italian words "grotta" (cave) and "fresco". These works depicted distorted forms, a mixture of animal and plant elements. It opened up a new aesthetic direction, but it was only in the 19th and 20th centuries that it became widespread, becoming a form of expression of social criticism through its specific and complex representational style.
The grotesque is a complex mode of representation in which opposing aesthetic qualities are intertwined: for example, frightening, distorted, ugly elements are combined with sublime, beautiful, comic elements, creating ambivalence and tension.
"The grotesque is the probability of an improbability. "1 "The grotesque, [...], is nothing other than man's assertion of some absurdity about the world, in order to better approximate the reality of the world. "2
– writes István Örkény, whose name has become synonymous with the grotesque (in Hungary). The grotesque is not only a formal characteristic, but must also be present in terms of content: it can provoke and make the audience think, creating a psychological tension with a combination of the frightening and the comic. It is no coincidence that it became a form of protest in art in the 20th century, as it could be used to express opinions and convey messages in a covert way.
It appears in all fields of art, for example in painting by Hieronymus Bosch or Mihály Gácsi, in literature as a favourite genre of István Örkény and Chuck Palahniuk, in sculpture through the works of László Csíky, while in theatre Eugène Ionesco and Friedrich Dürrenmatt are the great masters of the grotesque.
Today, the use of the grotesque can become topical once again. The defining events of the 20th century seem to be repeating themselves, for example, with the instability of economic and political relations and the outbreak of wars, which are upsetting the normal, familiar framework of life. The grotesque highlights the absurdities of the world. It has the power to create tension, to both horrify and delight, to reflect on the dissonances caused by social tensions, to question what we value, what we find attractive or what we reject. Grotesque representation is relevant in contemporary art, it acquires a topical interpretation, it can be a tool for reflection and provocation on social and cultural problems, as it was in the previous century. The grotesque is not only a medium of expression, but also a tool for raising awareness of social and individual conflicts, and it has an important role in contemporary art in terms of content. The grotesque, as a mode of representation, provokes and makes us reflect on the incongruities of society and the human experience through its unreality and absurdity, the grotesque is the result of a conscious creative intention and choice.
By examining these questions, I have created three photographs.What connects them; they are monochrome pink still lifes, with some kind of animal remains as their central element.The still lifes are static compositions, reflecting small but deeply meaningful aspects of life through different symbol systems.Through a conscious selection of components, still life can not only provide a visual experience but also stimulate intellectual interaction.The grotesque aesthetic creates narratives that can capture and provoke the viewer's attention. Still lifes can thus reflect on collective memory and social reality.
In choosing the title, I have tried to keep it short but expressive. The term 'natura morta' means 'still life' in Italian, but can be literally translated as 'dead nature'. I find it interesting that while the majority of Germanic languages associate the concept of life with still life, the majority of Romance Latin and Slavic languages (also Hungarian) associate the meaning of death with it. I feel that the term 'dead nature' more accurately reflects the theme of my work, which is why I chose to use the Italian term.
1 ÖRKÉNY ISTVÁN: Párbeszéd a groteszkről (Budapest, Magvető, 1981., 139.o.)
2 ÖRKÉNY ISTVÁN: Párbeszéd a groteszkről (Budapest, Magvető, 1981., 139.o.)
The first photo is centred around a butchered pig's head. The head and the entrails are in contrast to the background, the pink tablecloth, the flowers and the female body shaped sculptures. I took the dolls apart and painted them pink along with the female body and head sculptures. I use these as symbols of femininity, womanhood, social ideals and ideals of beauty. I filled the hollow, "empty" female head with the entrails of a pig, reflecting on the emptiness of female identity, the valorisation of external appearance over internal values. The contrast of offal and plastic reinforces this dissonance. The plastic objects (bodies, heads, legs), which can survive for millions of years, i.e. cannot perish, are juxtaposed with the decomposing remains of the dead animal, creating a grotesque effect, reflecting the transience and perishability of the body. Plastic, as an artificial material, suggests durability while being separated from life, while flesh, as a decomposing material, is associated with life and mortality. The meeting of these two materials creates a contrast that reflects the gap, the duality, between the artificial beauty and the real, ephemeral body.
The second still life shows the heart of a dead pig in the shape of a shell I made, against a pink background. The shell is a soft, refined element in the picture, while the raw appearance of the pig's heart contrasts with it. The pig's heart can be interpreted as an analogy for the pearl developing in the shell. The pearl is a symbol of purity and beauty, while the pig's heart is a symbol of lifelessness, transience and rawness in my work. Replacing the pearl with a heart radically changes the meaning. It confronts the recipient with the reality of beauty and life, with transience. The heart refers to the vulnerability and fragility of the body, a symbol of emotion, a source of life. In this context, as a heart plucked from a dead body has a grotesque effect, a duality of meaning. The formulation as still life reinforces the meaning, a means of juxtaposing death and life, as in vanitas still lifes.
The third idea was implemented in two ways. The central element of the pictures is a chicken paw. In one photo, the chicken paw is shown with a bracelet and rings on its "fingers", while in the other photo it is covered with glued-on gemstones.The clean, elegant look contrasts with the dead chicken's feet. How do we define and interpret symbols of money, wealth and power in the 21st century?Jewellery and gems – often status symbols of wealth and money – on the leg of a dead animal reveals that the value and meaning we assign to an object are strictly social conventions.They do not always reflect the real content, they highlight the absurdity of social hierarchies and customs. Anthropomorphism – the attribution and comparison of human qualities, habits and meanings to animals, objects and things – is an important tool of the image. It helps us to recognise that we tend to view and interpret the world through our own filters, ignoring other perspectives. The notion of beauty is not only linked to aesthetics, but also to social and cultural constructs and concepts that constantly distort and shape our lives, their values and norms – for example, what people do with their natural bodies, how they shape them under the pressure of society.
During the creation of the still lifes, my vision gradually evolved. While many people may consider the genre of still life to be monotonous or boring, I have discovered its diversity. The process has allowed me to explore the complexities and interpretations behind seemingly simple motifs, and still life has opened up a new perspective for me. Still lifes in contemporary art are not simply spectacles; they reinterpret the past and raise questions in the present, giving relevance and value to the genre. They can live on as a means of expression where classical compositions meet themes that are relevant to the present. With the values and messages of the genre in mind, contemporary adaptations of still lifes are able to explore topical issues and raise provocative questions.
LITERATURE:
COLEMAN, A. D.: The Grotesque in Photography (New York, Summit Books, 1977.)
CONNELLY, S. FRANCES: Modern Art and the Grotesque (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003.)
CONNELLY, S. FRANCES: The Grotesque in Western Art and Culture (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012 )
SCHNEIDER, NORBERT: Still Life (Köln, Taschen GmbH, 2003.)