Work Title: Holy water cannot help you now
Artist: Stella Vine
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 72 x 84 inches
Year: 2005
Image Link: Holy water cannot help you now
Exhibition History: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=141334&which=&aid=424009475&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com
Official Website: http://www.stellavine.com/
Artist Statement:
" I had been painting Kate Moss for a long time, both before the time of her crisis and during it. I felt very strongly for her - she’s a hard-working mum and it seemed as if suddenly the world turned against her."
Artist: Stella Vine
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 72 x 84 inches
Year: 2005
Image Link: Holy water cannot help you now
Exhibition History: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=141334&which=&aid=424009475&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com
Official Website: http://www.stellavine.com/
Artist Statement:
" I had been painting Kate Moss for a long time, both before the time of her crisis and during it. I felt very strongly for her - she’s a hard-working mum and it seemed as if suddenly the world turned against her."
Curator Comments:
In Stella Vine’s painting, Holy water cannot help you now, she only has one subject: our “culture of celebrity victim-hood” (Dorment). This painting is an expressionistic portrait of “the people who clog our brain waves with accounts of their drink/drugs/sex/weight/marriage/divorce/suicide hell” (Dorment).
The celebrity featured is Kate Moss, a model troubled with drug abuse. The color pallet, in my opinion, is representative of all that Moss is supposed to be—the perfect, beautiful model that everyone envies. The melting of her skin is representative of her melting soul, it shows that this elevated figure is a “breakable victim” (Januszczac). The sweet shop color schemes, such as the pastel pinks and yellows and baby blues, “lend an unhealthy toxicity that suits the subject matter” (Januszczac). Expressing that, like candy is for the sweet tooth, celebrities with issues are for the media—both cannot get enough of their fetish.
I believe by Vine painting this picture, she is trying to show her audience that ‘everything that glitters is not gold’ and the negative effects that the media has not only on everyday people, but celebrities as well. Moss has experienced tragedy with a very glamorous style. In Vine’s opinion, Kate Moss is just a troubled mothered being “melted” by the pressure and ridicule of the media. The painting is "a combination of empathy and cynicism” (Januszczac). Though Kate seems to be wasting away from all of her troubles and wrong doings, there is still a bravery in her eyes, showing that she is a strong woman able to overcome her challenges.
In Stella Vine’s painting, Holy water cannot help you now, she only has one subject: our “culture of celebrity victim-hood” (Dorment). This painting is an expressionistic portrait of “the people who clog our brain waves with accounts of their drink/drugs/sex/weight/marriage/divorce/suicide hell” (Dorment).
The celebrity featured is Kate Moss, a model troubled with drug abuse. The color pallet, in my opinion, is representative of all that Moss is supposed to be—the perfect, beautiful model that everyone envies. The melting of her skin is representative of her melting soul, it shows that this elevated figure is a “breakable victim” (Januszczac). The sweet shop color schemes, such as the pastel pinks and yellows and baby blues, “lend an unhealthy toxicity that suits the subject matter” (Januszczac). Expressing that, like candy is for the sweet tooth, celebrities with issues are for the media—both cannot get enough of their fetish.
I believe by Vine painting this picture, she is trying to show her audience that ‘everything that glitters is not gold’ and the negative effects that the media has not only on everyday people, but celebrities as well. Moss has experienced tragedy with a very glamorous style. In Vine’s opinion, Kate Moss is just a troubled mothered being “melted” by the pressure and ridicule of the media. The painting is "a combination of empathy and cynicism” (Januszczac). Though Kate seems to be wasting away from all of her troubles and wrong doings, there is still a bravery in her eyes, showing that she is a strong woman able to overcome her challenges.
Bibliography:
Dorment, Richard. "Stella Vine: Well Blow Me Down, She's Good after All." Telegraph [United Kingdom] 28 Aug. 2007.
Print.
Januszczac, Waldemar. "Stella Vine." Art News. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://artnews.org/artist.php?i=173>.
Vine, Stella. Holy Water Cannot Help You Now. 2005. Art Rabbit. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://www.artrabbit.com/images
/00vine_stella_0.jpg>.
Dorment, Richard. "Stella Vine: Well Blow Me Down, She's Good after All." Telegraph [United Kingdom] 28 Aug. 2007.
Print.
Januszczac, Waldemar. "Stella Vine." Art News. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://artnews.org/artist.php?i=173>.
Vine, Stella. Holy Water Cannot Help You Now. 2005. Art Rabbit. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://www.artrabbit.com/images
/00vine_stella_0.jpg>.
