Surrealist Artist Inspirations

"Lady Bathory"                                          © Joshua Hoffine

Artist’s Name: Joshua Hoffine

 

Title: Lady Bathory

 

Date: 2009

 

Description: Lady Elizabeth Bathory was an actual person. She was a Hungarian countess in the 16th century, and one of the most prolific serial killers in history. She would bathe in the blood of virgins to retain her youth and beauty. The story of Lady Bathory serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of vanity, and comments on the current preoccupation with youth and beauty in our contemporary society. Joshua Hoffine wanted to create a contemporary version of the Lady Bathory legend. As you can see Lady Bathory is in the tub and the bloodletting of the girl is acting as some kind of spa treatment.

 

Analysis: I believe that this photo is very well thought out. It captures every detail and really tells the story. The set was simple, but simple is all you need. The lighting is great because it focuses on the center, which is where the attraction is. The models looked natural. And I would have never guessed that the blood coming out of her neck was a different layer.

 

Interpretation: When I first looked at this photo I thought it was pretty gory. It looked to me that the woman in the tub was bathing in the other woman’s blood. And it turns out I was correct, but I didn’t know the reason behind her bathing in the blood.

 

Judgment: I feel this art work is an absolute success. After research, I now know how much time and work was put towards this photo shoot. You could never tell that these are separate photos combined. The bloodletting is one separate photo. Also, after learning about the story of Lady Bathory, this photo definitely fit the storyline.

 

"Departure of the Winged Ship"                ©  Vladimir Kush

 

Artist’s Name: Vladimir Kush

 

Title: Departure of the Winged Ship

 

Date: 2001

 

Description: This art symbolically conveys the feelings of happiness and beauty to us. Many people don’t know that butterflies are amazing and courageous travelers. This is a departure on a long voyage. Did you know that butterflies can travel from North America across the Atlantic to reach England? With favorable winds, they can fly and rest on the decks of ships as needed.

 

Analysis: The use of butterflies being the sails for the ship is interesting and clever. It gives the ship color. The lighting in this hits the wings of the butterfly. The colors go really well together and make this whole picture look beautiful.

 

Interpretation: If butterflies are traditional for many things of happiness and beauty, I believe this represents this voyage across the see is beautiful and a happy time for these people on the island.

 

Judgment: Personally I believe that this picture is beautiful. I could look at it for a while and start thinking I’m in some kind of dream. The beautiful colors and designs on the wings attract the eye. And the many soft colors work well together to create this piece of art.

Compare and Contrast

These two artists are absolutely different to one another. Hoffine’s photography is based on what humans fear that are not real and Kush’s art is based on the beauty of the world. Though both of these pieces of art have stories, they are not similar. The theme of horror in Hoffine’s photo is very bloody and has a scary concept of bathing in the blood of young virgins while the theme of a beautiful voyage in Kush’s painting has a happy feeling towards the world and its beauty. But they are both surrealistic, they are both like dreams. Just one is a horrific nightmare while the other is a beautiful fantasy.