Happy Valentine’s Day! At the mention of this holiday, we conjure images of pink and red roses along with piles of chocolate and gifts and, of course, an embracing couple, but let’s take a look at a different portrayal of love in art.
The Point of No Return, 2017, Tatyana Druz, photography
Vilhelm Hammershøi is a modern Danish artist notable for his meditative paintings of his home and wife, Ida Hammershøi.
Interiør, Strandgade 30, 1899, Vilhelm Hammershøi, oil on canvas
With muted greys and yellows, he creates a quiet world absent of the noises outside, a space much needed for the current society.
Interior with easel, bredgade 25, 1910, Vilhelm Hammershøi, oil on canvas
In Interior, Strandgade 30, his wife sits in the corner, the sunlight flowing into the room.
Interiør, Strandgade 30, Vilhelm Hammershøi, oil on canvas
The love between the artist and his wife is unspoken, no bombastic promises of eternal bond or portrayals of physical touch but a tranquil affection flowing in between the light and dark Hammershøi painted.
Neil Libbert is a photographer recognized for his contribution to The Observer, The New York Times, and Sunday Times along with portraits of important figures such as Francis Bacon and James Baldwin.
James Baldwin, 1964, Neil Libbert, photography
Francis Bacon, 1985, Neil Libbert, photography
He captured The Dance when he was twenty, alone in a club. The embracing couples, under the dramatic lighting, merges into one.
The Dance, 1958, Neil Libbert, photography
Their identities are not revealed, allowing the audience to project themselves onto the loving couples. There is no theatrical elevation either, just a fleeting ambience of love preserved in a photo.
Felix Gonzalez is a postmodern gay American artist known for his conceptual use of ready-made objects to explore ideas of desire, identity, and the journey of life. His representative works include the colourful candy spill installations, where viewers are encouraged to take the candy and the museum replenishes it, the interactions between the artwork and the audience thus completing Gonzalez’ artwork.
Untitled (USA Today), 1990, Felix Gonzalez, installation
In his Untitled (Perfect Lovers), Gonzalez installs two industrial clocks side by side, like a couple.
Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991, Felix Gonzalez, installation
The clocks are in perfect synchrony, like love at perfection. Inevitably, however, the clock hands will drift towards different hours, only to be manually calibrated again back into harmony, just as how lovers experience imperfection at times, but are forever with each other, side by side.
Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991, Felix Gonzalez, installation
Gonzalez portrays this universal truth of love without the appearance of a human figure nor any symbols connected to love but with ready-made objects that are seemingly unrelated except the brief mention of “perfect lovers”.
Wutopia is a contemporary Chinese architecture studio known for its culturally symbolic designs.
Hovering Kan-Too, 2022, Wutopia, architecture and interior design
Shrine of Whatslove is an installation that seeks to question love in current society with rapid globalization, industrialization, and change.
Shrine of Whatslove, 2019, Wutopia, installation
The red triangular prism is set amidst hazy mountainscapes, creating a dramatic contrast between the flaming red and the muted green. At night, the prism is lit, reminiscent of a passionate flame in juxtaposition to a quiet rural setting.
Shrine of Whatslove, 2019, Wutopia, installation
The installation is built with carbon fiber strings, evoking connection with the Chinese folklore of a deity who matches mortal men and women into marriage by tying them with red strings, thus relating to the Chinese idea of destined love. Perhaps in such a time of rapid change, love will arrive when it is destined to arrive.
Shrine of Whatslove, 2019, Wutopia, installation
Bill Viola is a contemporary digital video artist known for his large, slow-motion diptych films fused with religious allusions concerning themes surrounding fundamental human experiences including love.
In The Lovers, a man holds tightly onto his lover as blasts of water crushes them, creating tension between love and conflicting forces of nature.
The Lovers, 2015, Bill Viola, video
The couple tumbles yet remains standing, further drawing to the power and vulnerability of love. Similarly, the water imagery reoccurs in Viola’s opera video Love/Death: The Tristan Project where a couple drowns in a river.
Love/Death: The Tristan Project, 2005, Bill Viola, video
The uncontrollable flow of water perhaps becoming a metaphor for love itself, powerful, changing, and overwhelming.
Love/Death: The Tristan Project, 2005, Bill Viola, video
Since the beginning of art have artists attempted to capture the fleeting, abstract sensations of love into permanent visual expressions, yet it remains an intriguing mystery to all. This inscrutable force that binds people together and fills their soul with joy continues to be a subject of artistic exploration, inspiring thousands more works that evoke the enigmatic sentiment. With this, Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love Impossible, 2017, Rafal Michalak, photography
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