"Boogiewoman" by Jaime Bull |
Thirteen-foot-tall paintings are enough to intimidate any
viewer. That’s just how Jaime Bull hopes museum visitors will react to her
depictions of female beasts that represent strength, sexuality and aggression,
among other characteristics.
The larger-than-life oil paintings in Bull’s work in the “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” are additionally adorned with hair, rhinestones and soft fabric
sculpture. Her paintings serve as a commentary on political statements about
women’s health and reproductive rights as well as the “feminine experience,” said Bull.
Bull created these works of art after being inspired by the
monsters and beasts depicted in wall frescoes and on Renaissance globes in
Cortona, Italy. The ancients used these depictions of
female monsters to explain the inexplicable, like natural disasters or heaven
and hell, and were meant to keep people in line, according to Bull.
“In response to these ideas, I
invented a cast of female monsters who would frighten the pants off anyone who crossed them with their sheer size and blatant sexuality,” said
Bull. She was inspired by the grotesque forms of these invented
creatures and the scare tactics they employed.
Bull is a 2013 candidate in
painting in UGA’s MFA program. Her brightly colored abstractions explore
nature, culture, fantasy and sexuality with touches of humor and play. In 2012,
she was awarded support to study and work in Cortona and at the Penland School
of Crafts in North Carolina. She is a recipient of the 2012–2013 Willson Center
for Humanities and Arts Research Grant.
Bull views the paintings in her exit show as a “celebration
of materials,” as she used both painting and sculpture to create them. She
enjoys making bright, bedazzled surfaces, which she hopes engage viewers’
imaginations. Her paintings, though playful, tend to have a menacing element, according to Bull.
The paintings are on un-stretched linen and can be wrapped
around the body and worn as a costume. In addition to her paintings, Bull is
making short films documenting her paintings in motion when worn.
Bull is currently applying for grants and residencies and hopes to travel and teach in the future.
The “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” is on
view at the Georgia Museum of Art March 16 to April 22, 2013, with an opening
reception in conjunction with 90 Carlton: Spring on March 22. MFA Speaks is
scheduled for March 21 at 5:30 p.m. and will feature the artists discussing
their work.
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