art that messes you up

the black paintings were created by de goya in the later years of his life, at a time when he was going deaf. they're haunting and represent his perspective on life. they were originally painted on the walls of his home. they were painted during a time of war and show the anxiety and hysteria de goya was experiencing at the time. there are 14 black paintings but i've selected 2 to show you. it's important to remember that de goya did not name these paintings, and they were given names after his death.

this painting depicts the myth of the titan saturn eating his godly children to prevent one of them from killing him in the future. this is one of 6 paintings that were on de goya's dining room walls. the true interpretation of this painting, however, is up for debate, as de goya took no notes. it's been theorized that the painting is an inversion of the antisemetic trope of blood libel, or that it represents de goya's relationship with his son or potential mistress.

this painting is theorized to represent man's struggle against the forces that envelop him, due to the vastness of the canvas in contrast to the small size of the dog's head. according to robert hughes, "we do not know what it means, but its pathos moves us on a level below narrative."

this is an electric box fan that boskovich found in his lover's apartment after his death from AIDS. everything else was gone. the fan is enclosed in plexiglass, with holes cut in the front. this piece represents a denial of mourning. it shows the way society didn't care to grieve for those with AIDS, and left nothing for those left to mourn.

this piece consists of two plain clocks, touching. they're set at the same time and may eventually fall out of sync. if one or both stops working, they are taken down from the exhibition, repaired, and set again. the clocks have been described as "two figures always in proximity but unable to unite and become a single body". they represent "two mechanical heartbeats." the piece is a commentary on the diagnosis of gonzález-torres's partner with AIDS.

louis wain was president of the national cat club and served as a judge at cat shows. his art features cats in both realistic and psychedelic struggles. wain spent the last 15 years of his life in mental hospitals and it's theorized that he had schizophrenia, because of the abstract nature of some of his cat drawings, however he still drew in his traditional, realistic style in later years, challenging that theory.

this painting is a representation of the time period and the political violence in russia at the time. repin described his trip to europe before starting the painting: "misfortune, death, murder and blood make up a hole that draws you into it with force. at the same time, there are so many bloody paintings in all the exhibitions. and I, probably overtaken by all this bloodiness, on my return home, started the bloody scene of ivan the terrible with his son." he also described the painting process itself: "i painted in tears, i was tortured, i tormented myself, i corrected again and again what i had painted, i hid it, in a sickly disappointment, no longer believing in my strength, i erased what i had painted. i had already erased, and i was attacking the canvas again. every minute was terrible to me. i was disappointed with this painting, i hid it. and she made the same impression on my friends. but something pushed me towards her, and again i was working on it."

this painting is part of bloom's cadaver series, which he started after a visit to a morgue. these paintings were a way for him to process death. he thought "death was a metamorphosis from one form of life to another as the body was consumed by living organisms: a process for which resurrection can be seen as a metaphor."

hope you enjoyed my art history nerd moment!!!! feel free to add paintings you like in the comments ^__^!!!