Origin of Drawing
Artist
Dianne Blell
(b. 1943)
Date1985
MediumCibachrome photograph
Dimensions16 x 20 in.
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineDirector’s Discretionary Purchase Fund
Terms
Object number2008.100
DescriptionDIANNE BLELL (B. 1943)Origin of Drawing, 1984
Cibachrome photograph
Charles F. Smith Fund, Director's choice, 2008.100
Dianne Blell is an artist from New York City whose photographs, installations and mixed media works refer to mythological, historical, and religious themes. In particular, they examine the role of women and their depiction in the art historical canon. Origin of Drawing belongs to the 1983-1985 series The Pursuit of Love, which examines ancient Greek mythology. In Origin of Drawing, the artist draws a parallel between the creative process and romantic love, eros to the Greeks. The woman is in the process of painting the man's profile, hinting that Origin of Drawing is in the love between a man and a woman. Inspiration, at least in the traditional sense, comes from the muse, from passion, and from love.
In photographing The Pursuit of Love, Blell's own creative process involved staging her models with props against carefully constructed backgrounds which she then photographs with a large format 4x5 film camera. The resulting photographs are stylistically reminiscent of neoclassicism, especially paintings of Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), who used similar principles of composition and subject interactive to convey a moralistic message. Blell's use of the camera, however, transcends the paintbrush to create greater detail and precision within the image
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