Critical Artist Expression

Vladimir Massillon
9/11/2017
Critical Artist Expression

Vanessa Beecroft

This is a picture of a living painting done by Vanessa Beecroft, who chose to portray the horror of the Darfur Genocide by dropping red paint over still bodies as a representation of corpses. The Darfur Genocide involved the raping, torturing, and mass slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians living in western Sudan. Vanessa Beecroft, who is exceptional at creating controversial art works that usually involve nude or almost nude women, is making a grand statement by highlighting the first genocide of the 21st century in this style of live painting. Not only does she address a serious cultural issue in her artwork, but she also utilizes the nude women in this painting to create a symbol of feminism. The theme of nude women in this live painting and many of her other works suggests that she is seeking to draw attention to women in the art world. Due to the fact that art is a male dominated field, it is important that artists like Vanessa Beecroft are active in the art world to highlight the importance of women in this field.