COLLECTION NAME:
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
mediaCollectionId
ArtArtHiAAH~7~7
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
Collection
true
Image Record ID:
aahi0002242
image_record_id
aahi0002242
Image Record ID
false
Work Title (display):
Empty Man
Image Title:
full view
Work Dates (display):
1991
Work Dates type:
creation
Image Date (display):
2008-08-14
Work Creator (display):
José Leonilson Bezerra Dias (Brazilian, 1957-1993)
Work Creator gender:
male
work_creator_or_agent_gender
male
Work Creator gender
false
Work Creator notes (display):
Born in Fortaleza, in the north-east of Brazil, Leonilson lived in São Paulo from early childhood until his death in 1993. His early works, from the period between 1983 and 1988, were primarily figurative paintings, largely influenced by the transavantguardia group of Italian painters active in the early 1980s, although he also made sculptures and produced drawings in pen and ink. He developed a strong personal narrative as his work progressed, incorporating images that alluded to the conflict between his gay sexuality and his Catholic heritage. He first incorporated sewing and embroidery into his works in 1989, influenced by the work of the untrained Brazilian artist Arthur Bispo do Rosario (1909-1989) as well as by Shaker work he had seen on a trip to America. After discovering he was HIV positive in 1991 and due to the subsequent decline in his health, Leonilson's painting practice waned and he began working exclusively on embroidered works. The Penelope dates from the last year of his life. Like all of Leonilson's fabric works, The Penelope is unstretched and pinned directly to the wall, lending it the appearance of a religious or political banner, although a frilled skirting at the bottom of the work, as on a decorative curtain, implies a domestic reference. The work is made up of 10 panels of various diaphanous fabrics, netting and voile, overlaid and patchworked together. The fabrics used are subtly different in colour, ranging from white to cream to pale blue, and Leonilson's hand-sewing takes the form of a large, uneven running stitch in dark embroidery thread. Along the one side of the panel, Leonilson has embroidered the title of the work and the small motif of an empty chair. The Penelope referred to in the title is the wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus left Penelope to fight in the Trojan War. When, at the end of ten years of hostilities, Odysseus did not return with the other princes of Greece, she was beleaguered by suitors telling her that Odysseus was shipwrecked and begging her to remarry. Distraught, Penelope tells the men that before she can remarry, she must finish weaving a shroud for her father-in-law. Penelope works all day on her weaving, but each night she secretly unpicks her day's work so it will never be completed. In the original Portuguese title of the work, O Penelope, Leonilson has deliberately paired the masculine article, O, with the feminine noun. The artist uses this device frequently in titling his works, subverting the boundaries between male and female domains, in a way that echoes his claiming of needlework away from its traditionally female associations. (Grove Art Online Accessed 2007-10-08)
Work Style Period:
20th century
work_styleperiod
20th century
Work Style Period
false
Work Style Period:
Contemporary
work_styleperiod
Contemporary
Work Style Period
false
Work Subject:
turtles
subject
turtles
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
text (document genre)
subject
text (document genre)
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
figures
subject
figures
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
rabbits
subject
rabbits
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
animals
subject
animals
Work Subject
false
Work Worktype:
embroidery
work_type
embroidery
Work Worktype
false
Work Category (VRC classification):
textiles
work_category__ucbaahvrc_classification_
textiles
Work Category (VRC classification)
false
Work Material and Technique (display):
embroidery on linen
Work Measurements (display):
53 cm (H) x 37 cm (W)
Work Location (Geographic) name:
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Image Source Reproduction citation:
La Biennale de Venezia. Think with the Senses, Feel with the Mind: Art in the Present Tense/ la Biennale di Venezia ; 52. Exposizione internzionale d'arte ; [curated by Robert Storr]. New York : Rizzoli International, 2007.
image_source_copy_from_print_name
La Biennale de Venezia. Think with the Senses, Feel with the Mind: Art in the Present Tense/ la Biennale di Venezia ; 52. Exposizione internzionale d'arte ; [curated by Robert Storr]. New York : Rizzoli International, 2007.
Image Source Reproduction citation
false
Image Source Reproduction refid:
978-88-317-9256-1
Image Source Reproduction page number:
203
Image Source Reproduction refid type:
ISBN
Image Rights (display):
unknown
Image Rights fair use checklist:
1) use of this image is for education and educational research; 2) access is restricted to University of Colorado and Auraria Higher Education Center communities; 3) the original photographer is credited if known; 4) the image is published; 5) the amount of the work in relation to the whole is needed for education or educational research; 6) the number of derivatives is the minimum required for education or educational research; 7) the image has not been found to be reasonably available for sale; 8) duplication of the image does not violate preexisting contracts.
Work Rights (display):
© Leonilson
Terms of Agreement and Conditions of Use:
YOU AGREE: Luna Imaging's Insight Software and the digital image collection associated with it (the Software) are being provided by the University of Colorado under the following license. By obtaining, using, and/or copying this work, you (the Licensee) agree that you have read, understood, and will comply with the following terms and conditions. 1. The Software contains the University of Colorado's Department of Art and Art History's implementation of a digital image collection; 2. Any images obtained through use of the Software will be used only for non-profit, educational purposes; 3. The use of images obtained through the software will only be used while the Licensee is either: a) an employee of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver, or b) an enrolled student at the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver; 4. When the Licensee is no longer an employee or student of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or Community College of Denver, either by an action of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or the Community College of Denver or due to actions of the Licensee, the licensee will cease to use any images exported from the Department of Art and Art History's digital image collection; 5. The Licensee agrees to indemnify the University for claims and liability arising out of the use of the Software or for any violations of this license; 6. THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SUPPLIES THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
CU Copyright Statement:
The contents of the University of Colorado Digital Library are available for your use in research, teaching, and private study. Some of these items are protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and some items may have additional restrictions. If you use the items in this collection, make sure you abide by any restrictions stated in the descriptive data window. The nature of these collections often makes it difficult to determine the copyright status of an item. We have made every effort to provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions in the descriptive data window. Ultimately, however, it is your responsibility to use the item according to the terms governing its use. If you are a copyright holder and the information is either not listed or listed incorrectly, please let us know so that we can update the information on our site.
Holding Institution:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Collection:
Art and Art History Visual Resources Collection
Collection info and contact:
For information about this collection, see