Papers by Kimberly Musial Datchuk
Robert Rauschenberg is best known for his combines, radical work that brought together painting, ... more Robert Rauschenberg is best known for his combines, radical work that brought together painting, found material, and sculpture. Lesser known is his work with NASA. In 1969, NASA commissioned Rauschenberg to represented the launch of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon. NASA, concerned that television, radio, and newspaper would overlook significant details of the historic mission, contacted artists to capture facets that would have otherwise gone unrecorded. The assignment was commemorative and deeply patriotic. Rauschenberg’s Stoned Moon series strayed from the straight-forward, celebratory air of other artists’ renderings. He offered complex, playful, and unsettling representations of the launch. This undoubtedly conflicted with NASA’s propagandistic goals of the art program, but it accepted Rauschenberg’s interpretation and offered him a standing invitation to return – why? I argue that the elision of technology, space travel, and art in Rauschenberg’s prints revealed not only the artist’s experience of the launch, but also art’s essential role in a successful launch. Furthermore, his series tied into his theory of an artist’s purpose: “An artist is a diplomat, a prophet, a historian, a poet and a calendar of nourishment of morality and energy.”
During the last two decades, scholars have considered the many shades of masculinity and how they... more During the last two decades, scholars have considered the many shades of masculinity and how they interact. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec revealed these multiple, often conflicting masculinities, in his posters advertising Aristide Bruant’s cabarets, Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant, 1892 and Eldorado: Aristide Bruant, 1892. The posters, mirror images of each other, show Bruant with his trademark red scarf, wide-brimmed hat, and walking stick. His attire is non-specific working-class, and his physical presence is undeniable. Although Bruant embodies the power and confidence of bourgeois masculinity, two key elements are missing: wealth and respectability. In these posters, and indeed in all of the publicity for his performances, he assumed working-class status. Even though he had humble beginnings, he prospered from his cabaret act. So much so that by 1896, his working-class façade appeared to be on shaky ground. When Adolphe Brisson visited the performer at his château near Courtenay to interview him for Le Temps, his description of Bruant veered far from the ruffian he projected on stage. Despite wearing his trademark costume, Brisson observed that Bruant acted more like a “potbellied bourgeois.”
In this paper, I examine the unusual marriage of working-class and bourgeois characteristics in Lautrec’s representations of Bruant and why this reinforcement of the status quo was necessary in the fin de siècle. Lautrec’s depiction of Bruant bolstered the singer’s projection of working-class masculinity through its hard lines and even application of color. As Michael L. Wilson has argued, these same formal aspects reinforced Bruant’s identification with bourgeois masculinity, yet the question of why this was essential to do during the 1890s remains open. The same year that Le Temps published a profile on Bruant at his château, Le Figaro printed a series of articles by Hugues Le Roux titled “Nos fils.” In these essays, Le Roux bemoaned the paltry prospects for France’s young men. In addition, throughout the 1890s, journalists called readers’ attention to the continuing repercussions of France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. This tragic event from twenty years earlier was blamed for contributing to the (perceived) weakening of men and the masculinization of women. In contrast to the diminishing place of men that Le Roux pointed out in his articles, Bruant held a place of authority in his cabaret. He derided those whom he deemed inferior, both men and women, in his act. Théophile Steinlen illustrated Bruant’s superiority (and Lautrec’s artistic innovation) in his cover for Le Mirliton, June 9, 1893, in which he pitted Lautrec’s representation of Bruant’s working-class masculinity against bourgeois masculinity in the form of Maurice Barrès, who stands in front of Lautrec’s poster of Bruant. Bruant is the clear victor. By returning Lautrec’s iconic representations of the performer to the cultural moment from which they were born, I argue that Lautrec’s depiction of the Bruant’s exaggerated working-class persona filled a need in the dominant culture. Despite appearing to threaten the bourgeoisie, it fortified it.
I propose that Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec drew upon early film techniques to simulate movement in ... more I propose that Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec drew upon early film techniques to simulate movement in his work, particularly his "Au cirque" drawings, 1899. Moving picture devices and popular interest in them had been prevalent since the 1830s. As the century progressed, artists and scientists developed cameras capable of capturing sequences of movement in photographs and, finally, film. The impact of these technological advances on the avant-garde during the last quarter of the nineteenth century remains an open question. This question seems especially pressing when one considers that artists patronized and depicted the same establishments that screened films: dancehalls, cafés, and circuses. In this paper, I explore the connection between art and film through a discussion of how the depiction of movement developed in Lautrec's work throughout his career, culminating in the circus series. These drawings demonstrate an awareness of and involvement with the visual tools of nascent cinema. His competition with film corresponded to the previous generation's competition with photography, and his engagement with film opens onto a modernism focused on movement and technology.
Review and Interview with Blake Larsen and Alex Constantino about their collaborative painting pr... more Review and Interview with Blake Larsen and Alex Constantino about their collaborative painting project, Lüters/Dutson
Review of Lily Hinrichsen's assemblages.
Conference Presentations by Kimberly Musial Datchuk
In 2015, Marely Dias, an eleven-year-old African-American girl in Philadelphia, told her mother t... more In 2015, Marely Dias, an eleven-year-old African-American girl in Philadelphia, told her mother that she was “sick of reading about white boys and dogs.” Dias’s statement has implications beyond the books available in school libraries and taught in classrooms. Students of color, LGBT students, and female students encounter few people in their textbooks and lessons in elementary, middle, and high school who are like them. I argue that to encourage a more inclusive educational experience images of diverse and underrepresented populations need to be presented to students. Because the lack of representation extends beyond the classroom, I will begin my analysis with an examination of the extent to which minorities are represented in the media and politics and the effect that this has had on minorities. From this data, I will draw parallels from the lack of diversity represented in the media and politics to the lack of diversity represented in educational materials in classrooms. After establishing the importance for students of all backgrounds to encounter historical figures and literary characters beyond white male examples, I will examine strategies to incorporate more diversity into elementary, middle, and high school curriculums through the use of art. Art has the potential to provide students with concrete, visual examples of people from a variety of ethnicities, sexual orientations, and genders participating in society in meaningful ways, but it is often overlooked outside of art class. Therefore, I will provide ways that teachers can incorporate Western and Non-Western art into their lesson plans. Doing so will not only enhance students’ understanding of a variety of content areas, including English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math, and Foreign Language, but it will also build a climate of inclusiveness and diversity.
Presented at Ritualistic Experience: The Making and Viewing of Art and Art History, Arizona State... more Presented at Ritualistic Experience: The Making and Viewing of Art and Art History, Arizona State University, Tempe, March 30, 2012
Presented at the Third International Conference on the Image, Poznan, Poland, September 14-16, 2012
Presented at the 16th Annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium: Re-Examining Biography as Ar... more Presented at the 16th Annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium: Re-Examining Biography as Art Historical Framework, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, January 27, 2013
Presented at the Fourth International Conference on the Image, Chicago, IL, October 18-19, 2013.
Uploads
Papers by Kimberly Musial Datchuk
In this paper, I examine the unusual marriage of working-class and bourgeois characteristics in Lautrec’s representations of Bruant and why this reinforcement of the status quo was necessary in the fin de siècle. Lautrec’s depiction of Bruant bolstered the singer’s projection of working-class masculinity through its hard lines and even application of color. As Michael L. Wilson has argued, these same formal aspects reinforced Bruant’s identification with bourgeois masculinity, yet the question of why this was essential to do during the 1890s remains open. The same year that Le Temps published a profile on Bruant at his château, Le Figaro printed a series of articles by Hugues Le Roux titled “Nos fils.” In these essays, Le Roux bemoaned the paltry prospects for France’s young men. In addition, throughout the 1890s, journalists called readers’ attention to the continuing repercussions of France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. This tragic event from twenty years earlier was blamed for contributing to the (perceived) weakening of men and the masculinization of women. In contrast to the diminishing place of men that Le Roux pointed out in his articles, Bruant held a place of authority in his cabaret. He derided those whom he deemed inferior, both men and women, in his act. Théophile Steinlen illustrated Bruant’s superiority (and Lautrec’s artistic innovation) in his cover for Le Mirliton, June 9, 1893, in which he pitted Lautrec’s representation of Bruant’s working-class masculinity against bourgeois masculinity in the form of Maurice Barrès, who stands in front of Lautrec’s poster of Bruant. Bruant is the clear victor. By returning Lautrec’s iconic representations of the performer to the cultural moment from which they were born, I argue that Lautrec’s depiction of the Bruant’s exaggerated working-class persona filled a need in the dominant culture. Despite appearing to threaten the bourgeoisie, it fortified it.
Conference Presentations by Kimberly Musial Datchuk
In this paper, I examine the unusual marriage of working-class and bourgeois characteristics in Lautrec’s representations of Bruant and why this reinforcement of the status quo was necessary in the fin de siècle. Lautrec’s depiction of Bruant bolstered the singer’s projection of working-class masculinity through its hard lines and even application of color. As Michael L. Wilson has argued, these same formal aspects reinforced Bruant’s identification with bourgeois masculinity, yet the question of why this was essential to do during the 1890s remains open. The same year that Le Temps published a profile on Bruant at his château, Le Figaro printed a series of articles by Hugues Le Roux titled “Nos fils.” In these essays, Le Roux bemoaned the paltry prospects for France’s young men. In addition, throughout the 1890s, journalists called readers’ attention to the continuing repercussions of France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. This tragic event from twenty years earlier was blamed for contributing to the (perceived) weakening of men and the masculinization of women. In contrast to the diminishing place of men that Le Roux pointed out in his articles, Bruant held a place of authority in his cabaret. He derided those whom he deemed inferior, both men and women, in his act. Théophile Steinlen illustrated Bruant’s superiority (and Lautrec’s artistic innovation) in his cover for Le Mirliton, June 9, 1893, in which he pitted Lautrec’s representation of Bruant’s working-class masculinity against bourgeois masculinity in the form of Maurice Barrès, who stands in front of Lautrec’s poster of Bruant. Bruant is the clear victor. By returning Lautrec’s iconic representations of the performer to the cultural moment from which they were born, I argue that Lautrec’s depiction of the Bruant’s exaggerated working-class persona filled a need in the dominant culture. Despite appearing to threaten the bourgeoisie, it fortified it.