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Grotesque In Craig Larotonda's Divine Messenger

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Craig LaRotonda’s ‘Divine Messenger’ exhibit displays the theme of grotesque and cynical pieces. However, the piece The Dawning illustrates a nude siren traveling in a dark ocean at night. The siren is depicted similar to the siren’s of Greco-Roman mythology: beautiful women with long scaly tails. The painting is composed of acrylic on wood but looks as if it is actually a printed picture. The sky in the painting is almost as dark as the water with bluish grey clouds and is illuminated by a full moon. The water is navy blue and there are ripples in the water that indicate movement. The sky only takes up almost half of the painting while the siren occupies the rest.
Despite the corrupt landscape, the siren’s face is filled with sorrow and hope while she swims through the dark water. Whilst swimming the siren carries a small vibrant flame in one palm. What indicates that the woman is not human is the extremely pale skin and the tail that trails behind her in the water. What also stands out is the cracked, dirty skin, which might be by the cause of water pollution, and the curvaceous figure of the woman. Regardless of the fact that she is holding a flame, her hand (or any part of her body) seems to be affected by …show more content…

They touch on the fact that, “In a post-feminist popular culture, where the imperfect, flawed body is pervasively and persistently on view as a reminder of the requirement to work towards a largely unattainable perfectibility” (354). Every is focusing on bettering herself. On the other hand, the woman in The Dawning is focused on another task. She isn’t shameful of her nudity or of her imperfect body. The Dawning suggests that although the woman is struggling with being an outcast she still holds power. Whilst dealing with pain that is written on her face she is still keeping her

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