Erin Whittier - Task #4

"Who Cares"

When reviewing Olaf Breuning's work, I noticed that he often covers social issues, but adds a twist of irony and humour to them.

The issue I chose was sort of a personal one - nudity in art. I often create semi-nude/full nude portraits. A lot of my friends are very shocked by that and are always saying how "scandalous" my work can be, and say so negatively. I cant quite comprehend that way of thinking, because the human form is such an inspiration to me. The reaction that I completely loathe the most is when someone looks at a nude portrait and thinks of it with sexual connotations. I do not take nude images for someone's sexual interests! It really irks me when (especially on a self portrait) viewers make a cheeky remark about how "if only they could see more", or something along those lines.

In this work, I photographed my beliefs in written form with a nude model, and attempted to make my thoughts clear in an ironic and blunt way.

The aesthetic was partially inspired by his cartoon sketches (especially the "I KNOW" sketch, which i absolutely adore), and partially by the way he paints his subjects. When painting over the model, I was  also able to subvert the sexuality.