Artists | caroline

Manet- Luncheon on the Grass. ( Paris, 1832-1883)

“Le déjeuner sur l’herbe—testimony to Manet’s refusal to conform to convention and his initiation of a new freedom from traditional subjects and modes of representation—can perhaps be considered as the departure point for modern art.”

( Richman-Abdou K 2018https://mymodernmet.com/edouard-manet-the-luncheon-on-the-grass/)

Im inspired by Manet and in Oct 2018 I saw one of his versions of Luncheon on the grass at the National Gallery.

I have been back to the Gallery three times since to stare at it.

When Manet first showed this painting to the Jury of the Salon in 1863 it was rejected and was showed at the Salon De Refuses an exhibition that Napoleon III created for the rejected artists .

In Manet's painting he depicted a nude female for the first time as a mere mortal, up until then they had been portayed as goddesses and divine.What also was shocking was that the women is looking directly at the viewer with no sense of shame.

The painting was also scandalous because it wasn't painted in a classical style and it was very gestural with the brush marks showing.

350px-Edouard_Manet_-_Luncheon_on_the_Gr

Manet- Luncheon on the Grass.1863

Naeem Mohaiemen.( London, 1969)

I had the pleasure of meeting Naeem Mohaiemen on Dec 3rd 2018, I emailed him asking if I could interview him as part of my research and he suggested meeting at the Tate Britain cafe as he was in the country for the Turner Prize.We spoke about inspiration and his shortlisted films for the Turner prize 2018.

Two Meetings and a Funeral and Tripoli cancelled were the films that were selected for the Tuner prize.

Tripoli cancelled was the film I was interested in as it is a film about a man stranded at an airport (a metaphor for no mans land) The protagonist to pass the time reflects on a life lived and plays out his memories in the abandoned airport. A haunting take on the migrants experience.

Mohaiemen’s transnational left political work is research-led and includes film archives and stories about the retelling of memories. He highlights decolonisation and memories of political utopias. the erasing and rewriting of memories of political utopias.