I may be wrong, but it looks to me like a girl that got her nose broken. The way her shoulders are, it looks like her hands are tied behind her back. At first glance, and even now, it looks like this girl is being held against her will and made to sit for the photographer to take a picture of her. Before he......what? abused her? killed her?
" His disturbing yet provocative images of physically and emotionally wounded children have been seen as metaphors for larger global issues."
"The Child:
A clarity of vision in his subject matter was emerging in Helnwein's art that was to stay consistent throughout his career. His subject matter is the human condition. The metaphor for his art, although it included self-portraits, is dominated by the image of the child, but not the carefree innocent child of popular imagination. Helnwein instead created the profoundly disturbing yet compellingly provocative image of the wounded child. The child scarred physically and the child scarred emotionally from within.
In 2004 The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco organized the first one-person exhibition of Gottfried Helnwein at an American Museum: "The Child, works by Gottfried Helnwein" at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The show was seen by almost 130,000 visitors and the San Francisco Chronicle quoted it the most important exhibition of a contemporary artist in 2004. Steven Winn, Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic, wrote: "Helnwein's large format, photo-realist images of children of various demeanors boldly probed the subconscious. Innocence, sexuality, victimization and haunting self-possession surge and flicker in Helnwein's unnerving work".
Harry S.Parker III, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco explained what makes Helnwein’s art significant: "For Helnwein, the child is the symbol of innocence, but also of innocence betrayed. In today’s world, the malevolent forces of war, poverty, and sexual exploitation and the numbing, predatory influence of modern media assault the virtue of children. Robert Flynn Johnson, the curator in charge, has assembled a thought-provoking selection of Helnwein’s works and provided an insightful essay on his art. Helnwein’s work concerning the child includes paintings, drawings, and photographs, and it ranges from subtle inscrutability to scenes of stark brutality."
To me, the original print, and the copy here is disturbing on the highest level. Just my opinion. I don't see the victimization or hurting of children portrayed on a canvas to be art.
Apparently the whole thing is a farce...staged....I still feel that's a sick thing to do...but, artistic license, eh? I guess so.
I suppose the artist would be very pleased with my disturbed reaction. That's what Helnwein was hoping for.
I think it brings an artistic point of view on the brutality of the world. Like the guy said, a child portrays innocence, but a damaged child is innocence betrayed. Quite honestly, to me, something like this I find beautiful. I hate what children go through, because no child should ever go through that, but I really find this piece really beautiful in a sort of melancholic way.
But to me, something that awakens something in you, be it sadness or anger, rage and remorse, something that can stir feelings in you is beautiful. So many people refuse to believe the cruelties of the world, and this piece, the one done by ThatGuy and the reference, is beautiful in my eyes because it does stir sadness in me.
Children are worth protecting, and it especially goes for the ones who have already been tainted and damaged. You can't possibly make everything okay, you can't justify or even act on what has happened in the past. But by being there for a child, that's worth something, and although it doesn't make everything better, it certainly helps.
Well said, Bubblicious, but I disagree. Just because something is stirred within me, that doesn't make it beautiful, especially when the emotion present was caused by something disturbing, unthinkable, or evil. This could never be 'beautiful' in my eyes.
It is art. But, beautiful?
There are also pics on this site that portray children that have been abused sexually. How could a picture of the abused child be beautiful?
You have an eloquent way of expressing your opinion, but I couldn't disagree more with your definition of what is beautiful.
Well, that's fine, of course not everyone agrees. If everyone did, the world would be awfully boring, wouldn't it?
I understand though. Most people I know don't find something like that beautiful, and believe me, I absolutely hate the people who abused children. They are worse then anything on this earth, even murderers hate them.
I guess it's more of the emotion it evokes then anything that I find whats beautiful. No child who's been through such torture, unless they were permanently scared, would agree. And I understand that.
But, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, right?
This is a very disturbing image. I just finished reading a novel called "Grace" that is by an author who is an advocate for bringing attention and action to issues of child abuse. My concern over the images in the gallery that Miss DJ brought to our attention is that someone would profit from exploiting the sufferings of innocent children. Unfortunately, I do not know enough about this to judge if that was a motivating factor in creating the art or not. However, despite the skill with which this artist copied this piece, I find it distatsteful. Just my humble oppinion.
The problem is that you seem to think that this somehow glorifies child abuse when it actually does the opposite. It brings it under a harsh light and presents a haunting image that stays with you, reminding you of how tragic it truly is. This is a tribute to the dignity of suffering children, not their tormentors. If the idea of someone profiting from depicting this offends you in such a way, are you also upset with the people who profit from depicting slavery? You know, the people who made Roots. Or maybe you think Spielberg is a monster for profiting (yes, you had to pay for the tickets and DVDs) from his masterpiece on Nazi persecution of the Jewish population, Schindler's List.
Or maybe she just broke her nose and someone took a picture of her. She doesn't look sad or scared, soo... Either way, the picture is drawn well. Good job on the lights and dark.
drawn in 44 min
drawn in 30 min
drawn in 56 min
drawn in 43 min
I guess I'm done.
The next words after finding this print are, "Who is the sick bastard who took this photograph?"
and finally, although you've done a great, disturbing draw of this print, what would possess you to draw this?
http://www.helnwein.com/werke/photo/bild_2847.html
http://www.barryfriedmanltd.com/artists/helnwein_bio.html
" His disturbing yet provocative images of physically and emotionally wounded children have been seen as metaphors for larger global issues."
"The Child:
A clarity of vision in his subject matter was emerging in Helnwein's art that was to stay consistent throughout his career. His subject matter is the human condition. The metaphor for his art, although it included self-portraits, is dominated by the image of the child, but not the carefree innocent child of popular imagination. Helnwein instead created the profoundly disturbing yet compellingly provocative image of the wounded child. The child scarred physically and the child scarred emotionally from within.
In 2004 The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco organized the first one-person exhibition of Gottfried Helnwein at an American Museum: "The Child, works by Gottfried Helnwein" at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The show was seen by almost 130,000 visitors and the San Francisco Chronicle quoted it the most important exhibition of a contemporary artist in 2004. Steven Winn, Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic, wrote: "Helnwein's large format, photo-realist images of children of various demeanors boldly probed the subconscious. Innocence, sexuality, victimization and haunting self-possession surge and flicker in Helnwein's unnerving work".
Harry S.Parker III, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco explained what makes Helnwein’s art significant: "For Helnwein, the child is the symbol of innocence, but also of innocence betrayed. In today’s world, the malevolent forces of war, poverty, and sexual exploitation and the numbing, predatory influence of modern media assault the virtue of children. Robert Flynn Johnson, the curator in charge, has assembled a thought-provoking selection of Helnwein’s works and provided an insightful essay on his art. Helnwein’s work concerning the child includes paintings, drawings, and photographs, and it ranges from subtle inscrutability to scenes of stark brutality."
To me, the original print, and the copy here is disturbing on the highest level. Just my opinion. I don't see the victimization or hurting of children portrayed on a canvas to be art.
ADDENDUM:
http://colorsnw.com/colors/tag/michal-szyksznian/
Apparently the whole thing is a farce...staged....I still feel that's a sick thing to do...but, artistic license, eh? I guess so.
I suppose the artist would be very pleased with my disturbed reaction. That's what Helnwein was hoping for.
But to me, something that awakens something in you, be it sadness or anger, rage and remorse, something that can stir feelings in you is beautiful. So many people refuse to believe the cruelties of the world, and this piece, the one done by ThatGuy and the reference, is beautiful in my eyes because it does stir sadness in me.
Children are worth protecting, and it especially goes for the ones who have already been tainted and damaged. You can't possibly make everything okay, you can't justify or even act on what has happened in the past. But by being there for a child, that's worth something, and although it doesn't make everything better, it certainly helps.
That's my feelings on the matter.
It is art. But, beautiful?
There are also pics on this site that portray children that have been abused sexually. How could a picture of the abused child be beautiful?
You have an eloquent way of expressing your opinion, but I couldn't disagree more with your definition of what is beautiful.
I understand though. Most people I know don't find something like that beautiful, and believe me, I absolutely hate the people who abused children. They are worse then anything on this earth, even murderers hate them.
I guess it's more of the emotion it evokes then anything that I find whats beautiful. No child who's been through such torture, unless they were permanently scared, would agree. And I understand that.
But, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, right?