I seem to be inspired by people who aren’t afraid to be different, although my own artwork as been very ‘safe’ to date. Being different is a big deal in the world we live in, if we really take a step back and look, we’ll find that most people want to blend in with everyone else, we need to fit in and be part of the system so the system won’t reject us.
As creative people, we’re responsible for offering something unique to share with people. Sarah Lucas, a British artist born in 1962, seems to be that type of creative, she appears to look for ways to shock or make people think, comment, laugh… she seems to aim to stir any type of reaction from the viewer, whether positive or negative. I do wonder, that as she was one of the young emerging Artists of the 1990’s was she blending in with the other young British emerging artists of that time? was she under a lot of pressure to be ‘out there’ with her work? would she have preferred to paint watercolours and be a quiet peaceful…invisible artist?
Looking at her exhausting collection of intriguing and tantalising artwork, I choose to believe that she loves her art and is not afraid to stand in the front line, on the battlefield and fight! I plan to join her in that world, no longer afraid of being visible.
A review of Sarah in the Berlin Art Link states; Her art attempts to deconstruct the misogynistic culture she experienced in the 1990s, and at art school. Her most prolific examples are on display here, most notably the iconic Two Fried Eggs & a Kebab in which Lucas appropriates ubiquitous food items, arranged on a wooden table, to represent the objectification and frank sexualisation of the female body. The eggs and kebab, translated into women’s’ breasts and genitals, alongside the table, it’s table top and four legs used to demonstrate the body and four limbs of a female human, result in a undeniably confrontational sculptural portrayal of “woman as object” and the sexism Lucas felt as a young female artist.
Although Sarah Lucas’ artwork is often quite humorous, you wouldn’t expect it to be as deep as it is. The deep issues she tackles can be done in a light hearted manner, speaking to and reaching more people that way.
If we are true to ourselves and let go of wanting to be accepted and welcomed and part of a club, use our own voice to express issues that matter to us, who knows what we as individuals are capable of producing.
Karol the Artist 