Claire Curneen is a 3D sculptor who is most known for mixing themes of identity with nature. Her pieces range from full human forms covered in flowers, leaves and twigs to simply torsos. She has said that this is “to communicate the idea of pruning”(4) and that “If you prune well, you will get a better crop.”(4) In her pieces you can see similarities to ancient Greek or Roman statues in the way they show their elegance. Curneen takes extreme caution when creating each piece, taking her time to make every single detail perfect such as the potion of the hands and fingers. With each detail we can see her story and message behind what she does and we are able to fully appreciate her work in its subtle and clean beauty. “While ancient sculptors believed that it was the final act of painting in the eyes that gave their work life, in Curneen’s case it is this final positioning of the hands that animates her forms, giving them individuality and expressing their particular emotions, narrative, and character.”(3) Through this process, Curneen is able to give each of her sculptures an identity and overall gives life and motion to her creations. Curneen also uses her details to draw the audience into the smaller parts of her pieces, often using touches of blue or gold paint to create details such as tears to further build upon her story. “precious gold or cobalt blue glaze, using these traditional signifiers of value in the history of ceramics to suggest the strength and beauty of the human spirit that can endure these incursions.”(4)
In her sculpture of ‘After Archimboldi II’ we can see how she celebrates the female body with having nature blossoming from the body, each flower or plant blooming at different life stages. “bodies are paved with various kinds of flowers in different stages of life: buds, full blossoms, and blooms bearing the onset of decay.” (2) This shows us the beauty of nature and our own bodies in every stage of life, no matter how we think we look on the outside, the beauty is still there. This powerful piece shows sections of the human face but is mainly covered by flowers, leaves and twigs all sprouting from the body. This image shows us our own relationships with identity. The beauty of this person’s true self is covered by the beauty of nature showing us our obsession with outward beauty. This obsession goes so far that we willingly cover our true identities almost completely in order to be shown the way that we or society see as beautiful. Curneen uses a few different forms of media such as porcelain and clay in order to be able to focus on each detail and create a final outcome that is both elegant and overall fragile. The use of porcelain in this piece shows how fragile our outward appearance is compared to our inner identity. This highlights how much more important our true identity is rather than what we cover it up with or what we present to the public eye.
Joseph Lee is most known for his bold and striking paintings that use thick applications of paint over a portrait of someone’s face in order to conceal or blur their identity. Through this it is up to the person viewing the piece to create or interpret who is in the painting and what they are like as a person in general. Lee uses this in many of his pieces yet each piece is very different and each piece holds a different meaning and atmosphere to it.Lee has said that through the lack of features in his work, he wants the audience to be able to at least see a part of themselves in his work. Lee will also sometimes add different bits of fabric or garments to his pieces. “His art is his way of working through the profound identity crises that come with straddling two oppositional cultures: Korea and the United States.”(5) As of result of this, not only does Lee allow the viewer to see themselves in his work, but Lee also shows parts of himself throughout his work. When growing up, his parents worked with fabric very often so using fabric has now become a part of his life and his identity. When he adds fabric to different pieces, he is adding part of his own identity to the piece and further expressing himself.
In Lee’s painting ‘IdentityChrist’ we can see how Lee uses colour and application to convey the emotion of the person he has painted without even showing their face. In this painting we can see, unlike the majority of his other pieces, the frantic application of paint is shown in not only the face of the subject, but also outside in the background and the hair. This shows us the chaotic and exciting personality of his subject that may not be seen at first glance of the person’s normal outward appearance as they may hide that part of themselves from the public. This is further shown with the muted tones that take up the majority of their face and the introduction of much brighter primary colours in different areas of the piece. “Lee meticulously introduces a portrayal of identity that incites a bodily acknowledgement towards viewers experiencing the concepts illustrated in the paintings.” (1) Lee shows us that our identity is not just shown through our faces or our outward appearance and that’s who we are as a person is not as complicated as some might think at first glance. Lee uses his work to simplify our identities and allows us to be seen universally. His bold and bright pieces are able to be understood no matter where you are from or any differences. Through his bold colours and application of paint, Lee brings the inner beauty of his subjects to the front and shows the true identity of his subjects.
Reference list
1.Favela, J. (2019). The Emblematic Portraits Of Joseph Lee. [online] Visual Atelier 8. Available at: https://www.visualatelier8.com/art/2019/8/2/joseph-lee.
2.Whitney, K. (2020). Claire Curneen: About to Happen. [online] Ceramic Arts Network. Available at: https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/ceramics-monthly/ceramic-art-and-artists/ceramic-artists/claire-curneen-about-to-happen/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
3.Davey, R. (n.d.). Beauty in Brokenness: The Sculpture of Claire Curneen. [online] Image Journal. Available at: https://imagejournal.org/article/beauty-in-brokenness-the-sculpture-of-claire-curneen/.
4.Crichton-Miller, E. (2017). Claire Curneen crafts the uncanny in clay. [online] www.craftscouncil.org.uk. Available at: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/stories/claire-curneen-crafts-uncanny-clay [Accessed 3 May 2021].
5.Kim, S. (2019). Face Off: Korean American Artist/Actor Joseph Lee’s Striking Portraits. [online] Character Media. Available at: https://charactermedia.com/korean-american-asian-joseph-lee-interview-art-actor-artist-painter/ [Accessed 3 May 2021].