Saddlebacked, 2002
I would like to write today to bring some attention to the artist Amy Cutler. I first came across her when I found Lisa D. Freiman's book (Hatje Cantz, 2006) and immediately I was fascinated. Something about her artwork is so alluring. It must be the combination of the artist's brilliant attention to detail and the peculiar and confounding predicaments the characters find themselves in.
Her characters, all female, are confronted with situations in which they are physically bound to any number of scenarios. Any daily task, whether it be ironing, tending to chickens, or having a dinner party, becomes confounded by the fact that for those involved, one becomes a physical part of any action. The line is blurred about whether the woman or the task at hand is in control. Campers are wearing skirts that are the tents; A face is a potential birdhouse for dozens of birds; Fist fighting schoolgirls are entwined by their hair, as if they are conjoined twins from their braids' growth into one another.
detail from Two Girls and a Potbelly Stove, 2000
Cutler's precisely drawn lines and bright colors aid in illustrating a sense of whimsy. This is heightened by the fine attention to fashion, focusing on traditional and earlier styles of dress.
Whimsey contrasts with an eerie surrealism as one clearly sees the futility or ridiculousness of a given predicament.
The characters' impossible situations are almost real enough to feel and one can momentarily share in sensations of anger, frustration, or melancholy. Meanwhile, the details and colors are delightful and the compositions leave you entranced.
Sweepers, 2001
See more HERE.
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