de Kooning and Vulgarity: Stepping Even Farther Away from Idealization

Abstract-Expresionist, Willem de Kooning, is perhaps best-known amongst art-enthusiasts for his body of work entitled, the Women Series.  These grotesque and abstractly painted figures are anything but beautiful, in the generally understood sense of the word.  

 (Source Images/L-R: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kooning_woman_v.jpg; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Woman3.jpg)

de Kooning's frenzied use of brush strokes, violent and sickening colors (such as red and yellow),  exaggeratedly accentuated curves and overly large facial features of his subjects, and drips of paint cascading down the canvases add to the unsettling feeling the viewer gets when looking at these works.  Typically, when one encounters the womanly figure or female nude in art, the bodies are portrayed as being soft and feminine, gently curved and classically beautiful.  However, in the case of de Kooning's Women Series, the females are depicted in a way that almost reads as being violent or aggressive.  

Looking back on the history of art, it is easy to draw obvious contrasts between de Kooning's women and the sculptures of females from classical Greece and Rome.  In fact, they could not be more different in many ways.      

 

(Source Images/L-R: http://uploads4.wikipaintings.org/images/willem-de-kooning/woman-i.jpg; http://sasgreekart.pbworks.com/f/Venus%20de%20Milo.jpg)

(de Kooning's Woman I in comparison to Venus de Milo)

Perhaps, maybe what is most striking and surprising about de Kooning's paintings is the fact that he strays from the traditional ideals of beauty and femininity, established during classical antiquity.  The artist seems to be most interested in the ideas of expression, vulgarity, and the grotesque.  His subjects are not beautiful in the typical way we consider women to be attractive.  This dialog of opposition is what brings life and meaning to de Kooning's paintings.

Of course, discussing the concept of the grotesque in the context of Greece and Rome directly leads one back to the Hellenistic Period of art.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am interested in drawing parallels between modern/contemporary art and earlier eras in art history, with a particular interest in exploring Hellenistic works.  Certainly there are many similarities between de Kooning's works and works from that specific art period.  Most importantly, the shared interest of going beyond the pre-established rules and perceptions of beauty. 

(Source Images/L-R: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De_Kooning_sculpture.jpg; http://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/imagecache/235x196/medias/medias_images/images/louvre-personnage-difforme-dans-l039attitude.jpg?1336792632/)

(A de Kooning sculpture in comparison to a small Hellenistic sculpture)

The similarities between the two selected works are uncanny in many ways.  Both figures are twisted and turned as they are grossly abstracted.  This trait was common  in sculptures from the Hellenistic period.  Artists were more interested in evoking thoughts and feelings from their viewers, as the Abstract Expressionists did, so many years later.  It is fascinating to think about how trends and topics repeat throughout the history of art.

To see an online/interactive retrospective of de Kooning's work, visit: http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/dekooning/