Monk

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It looks like we might have made that Angelina Jolie painting too complicated. Evidently, it is simply about our celebrity worship:

On her blog, Kretz, 43, said the painting addresses "the celebrity worship cycle." She said she chose Jolie for the subject "because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the worldwide anticipation of her child, her 'unattainable' beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status."

Kate Kretz is the artist, and the painting is called "Blessed Art Thou." It just seems to me, if the painting is about celebrity worship, Jolie's garment should have been cut to show her legs, with the top transparent to show off her breasts better.


(Source: Martha Waggoner for ABC News)

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Of all the celebrity personalities that seem ideal for mocking, I would have thought we might give Angelina Jolie a pass, as her idealism and persona seemed rather more genuine and even somewhat awesome. Britney Spears would seem more suitable for holding up as the Madonna of Consumption. But maybe I am just more taken in by the dark mystery of Angelina. Here is Washington Post critic Blake Gopnik on Kate Kretz's satiric painting:

Kate Kretz's painting comes closer to magazine illustration than to the subtle fine art you'd expect to see in a major museum of contemporary art. It gets its messages across, alright. It presents Angelina Jolie as our nation's Madonna of Consumption. In a glory of siliconed breasts, collagened lips and foreign-adopted cherubs, Angelina reigns over Wal-Mart's banality -- its all-American brands, its all-American flag, it's all-American obesity. The problem with the picture, art-wise, is that its messages are way TOO clear. It's more like a puzzle-picture than a probing work of art: Once you've deciphered it, there's not much chance of giving it a second look. Its van-art technique, especially, is so generic that it hardly has a thing to say that hasn't been said a thousand times before -- often, much better. The crucial question, in our busy age: Why spend time with this work, when a 500-word Op Ed would do a better job expressing its opinions, and any number of Old Master paintings would mean more to an art-loving eye.

Judging by the artist's use of the actress's idealism regarding multi-cultural adoption, I think this is about more than consumption. We see a play on the idea of a culture of crass capitalism that is leavened with this rather strange liberal idealism, as though multi-cultural adoption helps to justify the world power-hierarchy that Western capitalism entails. Neverthemore, I still think someone like Madonna might be a better choice in hitting this note, as Ms. Jolie has seemed authentic in her concerns.

Or, maybe it is the earnestness and authenticity that makes Jolie the ideal choice. This is not mockery but a serious point. Maybe that is what makes the painting art.

( The Painting )

(Source: Liz Kelly for The Washington Post)

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