Transgression and taste:

I have chose two pieces to talk about, one by Jake and Dinos Chapman and one by Hermann Nitsch. The first piece by Jake and Dinos Chapman is called 'Hell', and is a depiction of nazi soldiers trapped in a hell of their own design. When looking at this image there seems to be a multitude of corpses and severed head spread across the image, bodies missing limbs and skulls covered in blood. I believe that this is quite a shocking and gruesome image it conveys an atmosphere of suffering and pain and I think that the colour pallet that has been used within this piece adds to this. The lighting of this piece appears to be a darker yellow, this, paired with what seems to be a dry and barren ground creates the illusion of scorching, unbearable heat, these are souls that are being tortured not only by there physical surroundings but also by the climate. I believe that the dark and muted greys that have been used for the clothing and machinery allow the use of red to stand out, the red is immediately vibrant and noticeable and this draws the attention of the viewer. I think that this is a very dark piece, the morbid and violent imagery invoke an atmosphere of danger and despair and I believe that this piece feels suffocating and oppressive, however, I think that there are undertones of irony within this image, these soldiers are suffering a fate that they condemned others to. However, I believe that the message that the artists are trying to convey through this piece is drowned out by the juvenile use of of toy models and I think that what was ultimately supposed to be profound piece about action and consequence seems childish and lack lustre in the end. 

The second image is a still from Herman Nitchs' '6 day play' which is stated to be a performance about creation, the image is immediately shocking, with the subjects being strung up on crosses and red paint splattered across the image to replicate blood and the red paint combined with the white clothes of the subjects created a stark contrast that draws attention. I think that performing this piece outside has allowed the performers to bask in natural light that I think adds an aspect of openness to the piece, however I think that looking at a still of this performance doesn't do it justice, the piece is confined to a single image and the subjects seem to spill over the sides of the image which makes me feel as if I am not experiencing this piece as it was intended. I believe that this piece feels violent and brutal, and I think that there are undertones of religious mockery that may invoke feelings of approval or offence depending on the viewer. However, beyond the shock of the violent connotations and the contrast of colours to find a deeper message within this piece and I find the fact that the only nude subjects in the piece are women to be misogynistic, objectifying and dated, and I believe that using women's bodies as props to convey a males messages is an overused and archaic technique.