Tradition

The two pieces by Carl Warner are two separate displays of tradition, directly juxtaposing the modernity of todays world and art culture.

The original picture, depicts a woman draped in cloth, surrounded by pieces of fabric. This stereotypical representation of the ’old school’ or ‘traditional’ woman brings to light how women used to be seen, a vast difference from todays woman which has been drastically changed through changes in rights and the success of feminist movements.

In parallel, the art piece entitled “Quixote and Panza” is the stereotypical representation of the traditional man. The image shows two males, a man and a boy right next to each other. The boy almost seems like a younger representation of the man who has a spear and appears to be armoured. These two images work in parallel to represent the traditional man and women of a past time, however, today these stereotypes have been broken down and challenged so much they seem like a piece of history.

Modernity

The four pieces of art which outlines a vastly more modern depiction of both males and females. The apparent theme present across all of these sets of works is the prevalent focus on appearance.

Women, posing on the beach and in situations where they are supposed to be relaxing. The presence of nudity in front of a blank background. A woman wearing a t-shirt which has the symbol of the comic book hero Superman plastered on the front. All depictions of women within these images directly oppose the traditional women previously explored in the images.

In addition, the men are no longer shrouded in armour, instead their bodies are built to look like they are covered in armour. The ‘Strongman’ who is seen to be a blend between robot and man. The one who does not look like this is sad, shunned away from the world. The artworks show the large focus on appearance in the modern day, rather than actually be a warrior they look like one. The women, instead of being draped in clothes have now removed them to show off their appearance. The change from traditional to modern is entirely caused by the prioritisation of appearance in the modern day.