The Los Angeles Times recently spotlighted an “audacious installation” by UW–Madison’s Christina A. West at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California.
West, an associate professor in the School of Education’s Art Department, is known for her explorations of the human form in provocative ways, notes the article.
Her installation, called “Strut,” includes two ceramic stumps, or armatures. On the opening day of the exhibition, a nude model in his late 40s climbed on these structures and struck a variety of poses — including kneeling, sprawling, and walking in what West calls a “strut” pose.
“She’s really pushing the boundaries,” said Beth Ann Gerstein, executive director of the museum, who invited West to present the exhibition with a live model. “I can’t tell you how many people told me how uncomfortable they were with the guy.”
West explains that “Strut” takes on the sculptural tradition of “heroic men posed against a pedestal.” Through this work, she said, she aims to re-examine men’s bodies and their positions of power.
“I am a fan of awkwardness in my work,” West told the Los Angeles Times in a phone interview. “So much of the representations that we see in classical sculpture are so beautiful, with so much grace and symmetry. I’ve always wanted to counter that. The idealism that I’ve seen in historical representations of the body doesn’t feel real to me.”
West’s “Strut” pedestals — without live models, but showing video of live models posing on the works — are on view at the American Museum of Ceramic Art through Jan. 26. The “Strut” show also includes photographs showing close-ups of the male body.
Read the full Los Angeles Times article to learn more about the exhibition and West’s work.