Divine Bodies - Review

Title: 'Divine Bodies'

Venue: Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Dates: 8th June - 29th September

Web Link: http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/laing-art-gallery/whats-on/exhibitions/divine-bodies.html

Divine Bodies is an interesting combination of European pre-1800 Old Master paintings and modern contemporary works. As I enter the exhibition, a description on the wall tells me that the narratives, spirituality and expressive qualities of these older works continue to hold power and relevance for the modern audience. By the end of the collection, I am able to appreciate this: Divine Bodies illustrates how art has the unique power to make fascinating links between today's world and that of centuries gone by.

The exhibition is divided into two sections: the first, 'Pain and Transcendence'. Here we learn that Old Master paintings were created during a time of strong religious worship. Biblical imagery has been a strong influence for artists over the centuries, with religious narratives allowing for the exploration of a variety of emotions - wonder, loss, hope and despair. Even though religion now holds less sway over daily life in the Western world, artists continue to be fascinated by it. This is evident in the first image, the iconic picture that has come to represent the entire exhibition: David LaChapelle's 2009 'Kanye West: The Passion'. Here we see the bloodied face of the American hip-hop artist in profile, with a glowing halo of black thorns around his head, set against a background of burning orange and red. The image, whilst undeniably slightly strange, strikes me as being very clever. West describes himself as the saviour of hip-hop music, his songs telling of a search for spirituality: LaChapelle interprets this literally, presenting us with West as Christ crowned with thorns.

Moving on and we are led to two contrasting images depicting the crucifixion of Christ. Marlene Dumas's 2011 oil canvas painting shows a small, pitiful Christ on the cross; rough, dark smears of paint reflect his abandonment and despair. The painting's title is somewhat ironic: 'The Tree of Life' has connotations of vivacity, glory, whereas the image we actually see gives a feeling of loneliness and despair. This is set next to Jacob de Wit's 1719 'Christ on the Cross': where Dumas's version of Christ has his head bowed in the ultimate expression of defeat, de Wit's version has his head raised heavenwards, expressive eyes searching for an answer. The one real similarity between the works seems to be the idea of the body's vulnerability: Dumas's Christ is very skinny, ribs protruding, and bleeding; de Wit shows Christ's heaving chest, whilst all muscles are tensed and fingers are clenched to convey the physical pain of crucifixion.

The most interesting painting in this section also happens to be the creepiest. In a line straight out of a story, it sends genuine shivers down my spine - I am drawn to it with a morbid fascination. Another oil on canvas, 'St. Francis in Ecstasy' was painted by an unknown artist in 1598: for me, the anonymity of the work adds to the creepiness. We see a grim-reaper style man, his passed out body supported by an angel, an other-worldly expression on his face and hands open to show stigmata. Dramatic use of bright light and dark shadows make this painting a very powerful image.

From here we pass into a separate room which holds the second section of the exhibition: 'Beauty, Youth and Age'. This section is my favourite of the two: addressing issues such as how Old Master paintings of the female form depict women's role in the downfall of men - linked with temptation, danger, sin - it really got my feminist brain going. It is clear to see that voyeurism and objectification of women transcends the centuries, whilst the modern world's obsession with bodily perfection has always been there - it is simply the definition of 'perfection' that changes. The exhibition caused me to reflect on the Western world's current definition of beauty - tiny, skeletal size zero, as small as it is possible to be without actually disappearing - and wonder whether, despite our disconnection from religion, this is where it has its roots: if women starve themselves to pre-pubescent proportions, they will not tempt men.

'Divine Bodies' nowadays equates to smooth, young and blemish free; older bodies convey ideas of shame and loss of dignity. Melanie Manchot does a great job challenging this with her 1996 silver gelatin and mixed media on canvas portrait of her mother: 'Mrs Manchot, Arms Overhead'. This contemporary piece is more reminiscent of the older paintings, where the women have much fuller, more natural figures. Manchot challenges our conventional ideas of beauty by portraying her naked, ageing mother gazing straight out of the frame, exuding complete confidence and pride in her body. In a society where almost everyone is crippled by body insecurities, this is a refreshing and much-needed piece of artwork.

All in all, I would recommend Divine Bodies: diverse, inspiring artwork, and much food for thought.