COVE

I have titled this installation “It’s A Woman’s World”, as I often wonder what life would be like if women were the sex in power rather than men. This can be as extreme as ostracization of the male sex, or an alternate reality where mothers and creators of life are seen as the stronger, more influential voice in society. 

The room I would choose these works of art to be displayed in would be a simple square or rectangular room with one entrance. The walls are off-white, almost cream, and there is stained oak trim along the base of the walls.  You walk in, you observe, you walk out. You do not waste the time of these women. The three artworks would be hung in the center of each of the walls, a straightforward scene for a straightforward exhibit. 

As “Cleopatra” is the largest piece in this collection, I would display it on the wall opposite to the entrance, the first thing one sees when walking into the room.  Cleopatra lounges on her couch, watching killers and thieves choke on their own vomit while piteous soldiers carry them out of view of the Queen. The power and size of the painting draws attention, and is flanked by it’s two additional pieces. I would see them as advisors or “right hand men”, or in this case “right hand women”.

To it’s right, I have hung “Jeunes Filles” , the most monochromatic of the three paintings. The four women, dressed in grey linen are posed openly and looking towards the viewer. Are they observing you in return, or are you allowed to observe them? This piece is the only fourth wall break in the room, and it is up to you to determine whether or not you are meant to acknowledge this. 

Finally, across from that, “Hylas and the Nymphs”, the smallest of the three paintings, is a controversial piece. It has been removed and reinstated by previous museums here, but it is well known as an example of a curious mind, or the curious minds of the nymphs. They take this boy and bring him home to show the others. What a fascinating thing is man. 

The promiscuity, or lack thereof, of these images is what draws them together. One might see these works as “over the top” or “too immodest” for the average viewer. I ask you, however, to think of grecian statues of men around the world. Many statues of women have a tasteful cloth covering nude bodies, showing the figure clearly but only the illusion of the parts of their body beneath that. On the other hand, penises and testicles are on full display, on walls of cathedrals, in homes, and in museums. This exhibit steps into uncharted, or “scantily charted”, territory attempting to flip the script.

Cabanel, Alexandre, Cleopatra Testing Poisons On Condemned Prisoners. 1887. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_Testing_Poisons_on_Condemned_Prisoners, Accessed 20 Feb, 2025

Waterhouse, John William. Hylas and the Nymphs. 1896. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylas_and_the_Nymphs_(painting), Accessed 20 Feb, 2025

Laurencin, Marie. Jeunes Filles. 1910. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marie_Laurencin,_1910-11,_Les_jeunes_filles,_Jeune_Femmes_(Young_Girls),_oil_on_canvas,_115_x_146_cm,_Moderna_Museet,_Stockholm.jpg Accessed 20 Feb, 2025