The Holy Virgin Mary

The Holy Virgin Mary- Chris Ofili- 1996

• The colour in the background is very rich golds
• blue robes- traditional in depictions of the virgin Mary
• virgin Mary at centre of image with female genitalia collaged around her
• black Madonna
• incorporates elephant dung on one breast- inspired by a period of time spent in Zimbabwe
• classic christian iconography given a modern and multicultural perspective
• "hip-hop version of an old master painting"

• made in around the same time scale as Myra and exhibited in the same controversial exhibition
• CONTEXT: THIS EXHIBITION WAS CRITICISED BY MANY AND THOUGHT TO BE TRYING TO BOOST THE VALUE OF CERTAIN WORKS BY SHOWING THEM IN INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC MUSEUMS
• INCLUDED OTHER 'OFFENSIVE' WORKS BY TRACEY EMIN AND SARAH LUCAS
• UPON ENTRY TO THE EXHIBITION VIEWERS WERE WARNED "There will be works of art on display in the Sensation exhibition which some people may find distasteful. Parents should exercise their judgment in bringing their children to the exhibition. One gallery will not be open to those under the age of 18"
• obviously depicts religious iconography so is religious but also has a self proclaimed hip-hop element, as well as depicting a black Madonna so might appeal to people of colour
• Quote from Chris Ofili- I don’t feel as though I have to defend it. The people who are attacking this painting are attacking their own interpretation, not mine. You never know what’s going to offend people, and I don’t feel it’s my place to say any more.

• This relates to religion, as it depicts as holy figure and the ways that various people reacted to this- e.g. devout christians being offended by the juxtapose of 'pornographic' images being placed next to the virgin Mary, seen as anti-religion and anti-catholic
• For some context Chris Ofili was an altar boy in his youth and also didn't understand why people were offended as he said "it's only a picture of The Virgin Mary, not the actual thing"
• Could also relate to cultural issues as it was the elephant dung that offended many, but this was used to africanise the virgin Mary, and as a response to the artists time in Zimbabwe where he felt particularly connected to nature, animals and the earth
• Quotes that could relate are:

"Offence is clearly personal and idiosyncratic; but offence can also be the shared property of a community"

"I argue that cultural conflict has a distinctive local profile. Cities exhibit different profiles of contention contention, based in part on the demographic, institutional and political makeup of the city. Fights over art and culture are not just the result of clashing personalities or contending value; they also represent the democratic outcome of citizens negotiating the consequences of social change within their communities."

"My premise is straightforward, I believe controversies over art and expression are symptomatic of deeper community struggles. Artworks often serve as lightning rods, bringing forward and giving voice to underlying tension caused by social change. When communities experience a new influx of new populations, new institutions, new types of families, new patterns of leisure, and new technologies, community members fight over symbols such as art and culture as a way to assert themselves."

I think that I'll either end up using the second or third quote in my essay as I think they say the most, in the most concise way. They both really get across the tone of the rest of the extract and the way the author himself feels about the subject in a very non-biased way.

Myra

Myra- Marcus Harvey-1995:

• Black, white and grey
• mugshot style image with very intense gaze (puts you in position of those killed?)
• taken after her arrest
• iconic
• made using casts of children's hands (juxtaposing the "innocent child with the depraved world of adults"

• was made in 1995, Myra was on trial in 1966 so was made after the fact
• was part of the controversial exhibition 'sensation' exhibiting young British artists at the Royal Academy of Art in London 1997
• bought by Charles Saatchi
• very 'high brow' (maybe couldn't be understood? out of context art?
• would be seen by many as was in big exhibit, so would have possibly shocked and offended not only those that came to view the other works in the gallery but parent of murdered children specific to this case and to others
• seen by many as an important work that needed to be seen, but by others as vulgar and in poor taste

• this image relates directly to the idea of the relevancy of context in art as brought up by Erin Tapely in Scrutinized Art 
• says that from her position she can take into account a persons possible inspirations and look past that to see valuable art but that she realises that others could interpret differently
• just as the images discussed in Erin Tapelys article could offend people on the basis of religious, political, and pornographic offence, Myra could offend members of society. 
• this offence could be seen as societal, cultural or just pure tastelessness offence. Some could find just the image of this woman's face so distasteful that they cant see any reason for it
• Myra herself (the lady, not the painting) said that she would like for it to be taken down as the work was "a sole disregard not only for the emotional pain and trauma that would inevitably be experienced by the families of the Moors victims but also the families of any child victim."
• Quotes that could relate:

"He also added that those who viewed the poster regarded the woman as 'nude', which became the most objectionable part of the image. Having been conditioned perhaps by art history, I mentioned that I hardly saw the nudity factor of this poster, but of course I would respond as he had asked."

"The connection to Serranos work- allegedly about the numbing effects of "spirituality" in the United States- was uncanny. But I knew that anyone could interpret it differently."

"While people often maintain that nudity or violence in art should be allowed, they draw the line when such themes construed as pornographic, tasteless, or blasphemous. The real question is, what definition or parameters will ever satisfy everyone?"

I think the final quote is going to be the one I pick as it raises the question of where we should all draw the line with offence and what constitutes as tasteless in our society. Does the art need to be important of relevant in order to warrant its offensive nature?