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Versace’s Medusa

Leonardo da Vinci

From one of the most prominent figures in Greek art to a widely recognizable fashion logo, the image of Medusa has evolved over millennia. Acclaimed artists such as Caravaggio, Rubens, and Da Vinci have been inspired by her horrific snake hairdo; nevertheless, it was not her hideous looks, but rather her incomparable beauty that once captured everyone’s attention. 

According to the myth, Medusa was once an exceptionally beautiful maiden, with long glamorous hair, who had devoted herself to a life of celibacy and servitude in the name of her Virgin goddess of wisdom, Athena. She was claimed to be even more beautiful than the goddess herself. In any case, her looks were apparently  “far too desirable and tempting” for the almighty Poseidon, god of the seas, who after Medusa refused his advances, decided to rape her. 

The central aspect of this story is that Athena punished her loyal servant Medusa for being abused, while strikingly giving Poseidon the pass. As a result, Athena cursed Medusa by replacing her alluring hair with hissing snakes with the power to turn anyone who stared at them into stone. Having this threatening curse, Medusa was also forced to live a life of isolation, since she undoubtedly could not be left to roam around Athens as she pleased. Consequently, Medusa was forced to live oppressed, silenced, and secluded from all human contact on the island of Sarpedon.

Understandingly, one might be tempted to rapidly conclude that Athena should have shown some sort of empathy towards Medusa. Nevertheless, upon further analysis, turning her hair into snakes with the capacity to petrify anyone was not a curse after all, but rather a blessing. In reality, the power to kill with just one gaze gave Medusa the ultimate ability to protect herself, not only from powerful gods like Poseidon, but from men altogether. In any scenario, Athena was the goddess of wisdom, and the word Medusa comes from a Greek verb that means to protect. 

Medusa has been ignorantly simplified as a monster. However, she is not only a sexual assault survivor/victim, but also someone who many women can relate to. Her myth represents the injustices that sexual assault survivors have endured in male-based misogynistic society. In short, Medusa’s crime was simply being too tempting and refusing the advances of a powerful male figure.

In today’s world, where sexual violence against women is ever-present, one question comes to mind: Do women have to be turned into monsters for them not to be assaulted? Her myth is a reminder that no one has the right to perpetrate sexual violence of any kind under any circumstance.

In an attempt to protect or not, Athena, punished Medusa, and her ferocious snakes are a metaphor for her rage.

Ray of Light, The Material Girl Goes Spiritual

In 1998 Madonna released what is considered, by music critics, one of her most complex, innovative, and experimental albums: “Ray of Light”. This album represented a dramatic departure, both in style and aesthetics, from any of Madonna’s previous works, as she introduced electronic tones with a slight touch of spirituality. Additionally, the release of Ray of Light is considered one of Madonna’s most transformative moments, which contributed  to her constant cycle of reinvention. 

Critics believe that two events deeply impacted  Madonna’s life and music before the release of Ray of Light. The first being the birth of her daughter Lourdes in 1996, and the second her profound awakening introduced by her study of Kabbalah.  In other words, the former material girl had gone full spiritual. Madonna: “All the puzzle pieces had started falling into place” 

As far as the album’s cover, booklet, and promotional material, the pictures were shot by fashion photographer Mario Testino in the “Paris Theater” in Miami on November 28 1997.  Like the music in her album, the photographs were of a spiritual and introspective nature, as breeze wafts passed through her blond curls, giving the impression that she was floating in space. 

Ray of Light was Madonna’s most significant album in 10 years, which restored her as a top-selling artist. In fact, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Ray of Light 28th in their rank of the best albums of the 90’s. Furthermore, in 1998 MTV awarded the single Ray of Light both the best overall video and best female video.

Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 9, 1989

The Cold War and Pop Music

After WWII the United States and the Soviet Union embarked on a decades-long ideological battle, which is referred to as the Cold War (1947-1991). Facing the imminent threat of communist ideologies spreading throughout the planet, the US Government needed to devise policies to disseminate the values of the American capitalist system in order to oppose communist totalitarian ideologies. Consequently, in fear of the “red menace”, the United States used popular music as a propaganda offensive/technique to disseminate a symbolic image of freedom. 

In 1948, three years after the end of WWII, The United States Congress passed “The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act” which aimed to “promote a better understanding of the United States among the peoples of the world”. The US Government, very intelligently, decided that a slow evolutionary incursion of western values was found to be much more effective than an open military confrontation, which could eventually lead to nuclear armageddon. 

In the early 1980s american pop music, through cassettes  and cds, was not allowed by the soviet regime and hence was only available in the black market.  For soviet authorities popular music represented the flaws of the capitalist system which was deemed as chaotic and selfish. Nevertheless after the election of Mikhail Gorbachev  in 1985, new policies were introduced to reform  the economic and political system referred to as  Perestroika, Russian word for restructuring.  With  Gorbachev as leader, the official attitude towards western culture became much more permissive to the extent that artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel were allowed to perform live concerts in the USSR and Eastern Europe. After long decades of suffocating soviet rule, the soviet government was finally allowing its people to sample the once-forbidden embodiment of western freedom: pop music. These live performances were immensely well accepted since they  brought a very necessary breath of fresh air after decades of suffocating totalitarian rule. Clearly, these spectacles were the embodiment of the freedom that these people so very deeply desired.

 “I am not for or against any government. I have come here to play rock and roll for you East Berliners in the hope that one day all barriers can be torn down”, (Bruce Springsteen concert performance East Berlin 1988.) 

Pop music disseminated American values to the hearts and minds of the Soviets, and by doing so played a divisive role in ending the Cold War in 1991. However one must ask: Who ended the Cold War? Was it Ronald Reagan or Mikhail Gorbachev? Was it the arms race? Was it the deeply held desire of the eastern european people to be free? Or was it the slowly and carefully seeded dissemination of Western culture by means of pop music? Probaly it was all of these. In any case, thank God that the decisive weapon was not a nuclear bomb. 

“They wanted western records of their favorite western artist and bands, then they wanted to dress and talk and act like their idols and soon they wanted to be free like their idols in the west. Eventually, the American tactic of gradual cultural infiltration worked, because people crossed the bridge – and brought down the Iron Curtain” (Pop in the Bloc. How Popular Music Helped the United States Win the Cold War. Sarah Jean Bittner, Georgetown University, 2012)

Jacques-Louis David, Coronation of Napoleon

Andy Warhol, Shot Blue Marilym

Jackson Pollock’s drip technique

The Dadaist Movement, Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism

Dadaism and Pop Art were reactionary art movements to WWI and WWII respectively. On the one hand, the Dada movement originated in neutral Switzerland after WWI  as a counter-reaction to the absurdities of that conflict. And on the other hand, Pop art originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1960’s as a means to elevate the capitalist economic system.

The Dadaist movement criticized the fact that art had become somewhat ridiculous and out of touch with the common man. Additionally, Dadaism also challenged the very definition of what should be considered as art, as they rejected “traditional art” as discriminatory by arguing that it did not represent anything relatable to people’s lifes.

One of the most representative pieces of the Dada movement is “The Art Critic” by Raoul Haussman. This piece mocks the superficiality of the art world and the conventionalisms of the bourgeois classes. In “The Art Critic” Hausmman uses conventional illustrations, like the ones found in magazines, to make a collage and mock the ridiculousness of so-called art critics and museum pieces. To make art understandable and relatable to everyone, Haussman and other Dadaists used common images of day-to-day objects in their representations. This certainly narrowed the gap between the observer and the art in question, however, it also left art critics horrified by the uncritical treatment of the subject.  According to Dadaist: How do viewers relate to the Coronation of Napoleon by  Louis David, which is on display at the Louvre Museum? Certainly, not everyone gets to self-proclaimed himself emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral, and a very privileged few could afford fine art as the one displayed in museums. Furthermore, dadaists went as far as to argue that anything they deemed to call art should be considered as such. Very clearly, Dada Art shook the very foundations, not only of classical art in particular but also the aesthetic conventions in general. Curiously, the name “Dada”  intentionally resembles the first words of a toddler, which implies the childishness and absurdity of classical art.

Pop art followed the Dadaist revolt, nevertheless, this movement was a reaction against Abstract Expressionism and not a broader rebellion against conventional art. As the name implies,  Abstract Expressionism is characterized by the spontaneous and subconscious expression of the artist. In other words, it’s a representation of the artist’s confusion, frustrations, or anger. The most recognizable artist of the Abstract Expressionist movement was Jackson Pollock, who became famous by implementing his “drip technique” that consisted in splashing paint randomly on canvas. Evidently, Pollock’s art did not attempt to represent any recognizable shape or figure, but rather express the artist’s spontaneous sentiments. Since this form of art focused itself on personal experiences and expressions, it clearly left much room for interpretation. In contrast to Abstract Expressionism, and like Dadaism, Pop Art used very distinct images and relatable everyday objects. However, whereas Dadaism asserted that anything on the face of the earth could be referred to as art, pop artists used very distinct popular culture consumerist images and celebrities taken from mass media advertising. 

One of the most dominant figures of the Pop movement was Andy Warhol. It is worth mentioning that Warhol began his artistic career in commercial advertising as a magazine illustrator and graphic designer. For this reason, one can find recognizable brand logos in Warhol’s works, such as his iconic Cambell’s soup cans. 

To understand Pop Art, one must keep in mind that following WWII, Americans enjoyed an unprecedented period of economic growth and international influence. During this period, television replaced radio as the dominant media outlet, which had a direct impact on economic and social behaviour. Economic growth meant that people no longer purchased items out of pure necessity, but rather out of the luxury of being able to afford them. Advertisements claimed that the products being offered would bring unprecedented joy to their lives. Furthermore, other innovations in technology created the movie and music industries, which would produce never-before-seen celebrities such as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe. In short, Pop art is an artistic interpretation and idealization of consumerism and celebrity culture created by the economic and social boom of the United States following WWII. 

Additionally, pop art also emulated the manufacturing process brought about by the industrialization of the US economy. Andy Warhol produced some of his works by using a technique called screen printing and hence created many originals with minimal effort. Very curiously, Andy Warhol’s studio was called “The Factory ”. In short, Pop art also embraced a repetitive, mechanical way of producing art that deeply contrasted abstract expressionist pieces. 

Unquestionably, both Dada and Pop Art presented a challenge to “traditional” forms of art. While Dadaism incorporated unchanged everyday objects and images, proclaiming them indiscriminately as art, pop Art did imply a minimal creative process by adding bold colors and minimal alterations to already existing images. Nevertheless, in my opinion, both movements represent a move backward in the natural progression of art as an aesthetic interpretation of the human experience. 

Gabrirl Orozco, Shoe box (NOT ART)

Sorry, but this in not art

In December 2019, I visited, as I do every year, the acclaimed art fair “Art Basel” in Miami, Florida. On this visit, I was accompanied by my sister Bertha, who studied art history in London. I remember very accurately that during this visit, one of the participating galleries had a cheese grinder on display. Certainly, this did not catch my attention, since finding this type of common objects or “works of art” is sadly very common.  As I was looking at this piece, without much attention, two almost simultaneous events happened, which I remember quite well. On the one hand, my sister was telling me that the gallery that was exhibiting the cheese grinder was one of the “most prestigious and exclusive galleries in London”. On the other hand, I was discretely listening to the gallery representative who was explaining to a possible buyer that the cheese grinder represented an “arduous life full of suffering” or something very similar, without remembering her exact words.

It is worth mentioning that this cheese grinder is part of an artistic trend that began in the early twentieth century called “Concept Art”. This artistic movement was born from the “ready-made” technique developed by Marcel Duchamp and his famous “Urinary”. Concept Art affirms that the “concept” has priority over the work itself. In other words, intellectual interpretation is more important than the visual or aesthetic stimulation of the object in question. However, in my opinion, concept art should not even be considered as art at all.

“Concept Art” pieces are nothing more than prefabricated or “ready-made” objects, in other words, they are literal replicas of day-to-day objects, such as cheese grinders or urinals. It is more than evident, that no one piece is different from any other, since they can be replaced without anyone noticing anything. 

According to the definition of “Concept Art” the story is more important than the “art” itself. Having said this, it is unquestionable that any existing object on the face of the earth can have some sort of interpretation. The gallery representative’s intangible explanation to the potential client about the cheese grinder and how it represented the human experience was solely aimed to legitimize a common object as a work of art. There is no other possible way to see it. The ambiguous, far-fetched tales of galleries only try to change the preconceived idea that the observer has of the object in question. In other words, Concept Art curators and galleries force the viewer to renounce their own perception of reality. 

One cannot help but wonder…. What turns a common object, which can be purchased in a grocery store, into a work of art? According to my logic, what causes this sudden and magical alteration is the fact that these “ready-made” objects are in museums and/or galleries, and not in a cabinet in someone’s kitchen. A cheese grinder on amazon.com is about $20 plus shipping, I just checked. On Amazon.com, a cheese grinder is a kitchen utensil, nevertheless, in a museum or gallery, this same object is a work of art worthy of being exhibited by one of the “most prestigious galleries in London”. Laughable. 

While I was looking at the cheese grinder, and listening to the gallerist and my sister simultaneously, at the same art fair, a banana tapped to a wall with duct tape by the “artist” Maurizio Cattelan, was sold to a collector for $120,000 by the Perrotin Gallery in Paris. This banana caused comotion in the media, and formalized before the eyes of the entire world that Cattelan was a great artist and his banana was a masterpiece. The Perrotin Gallery booth was full of people who gazed at a common banana attached to the wall as if they were admiring Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Sadly, there is nothing more manipulable than ignorance.

Concept art can be done by anyone, since there is no creative process or talent attached to it. This artistic current unfortunately opens the door for anyone to designate any object as art and consequently call themselves an artist. Very unfortunately, never in the history of art have there been as many artists as there are today, however, this by no means that there are more people interested in art, but rather that today anything can be categorized as art, and art is done by an artist. 

Being an artist is not an occurrence, and a common person without any artistic background does not have the right to proclaim himself as an artist on a wimp. A true artistry is based on talent, and talent is based on the perfection of a technique through practise. If anyone can be an artists, then we are not valuing true creators, those who earned it through hard work and preparation. 

True art is unique and of difficult execution. An authentic piece of art differs from a common object by having unique characteristics that reflect the mastery and talent of it’s creator, the artist. A work of art is something that reality cannot manifest. True art cannot be explained. True art is felt, because there are no words that can surpass it. 

Summarizing, if you can buy it swiftly around the corner or needs an explanation, then it’s by no means a work of art. Sorry, in not buying your b.s. story, it’s just a cheese grinder… that’s all.