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subtle eroticism of Maddox's images becomes blatantly wanton in Full
Moon Over Venus. A blond goddess is willingly strapped to a jumping
stallion, a creature typically symbolizing aggression, male sexuality, and
masculine initiative for women, i.e., all the elements of the animus. Her
pleasure is apparent as she easily melds with the animal's full and unbounded
movement, neither controlling the other. |
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Maddox's women participate in and are cognizant of their fate. Their eyes
hauntingly search out the viewer with a supersensory force. The paintings
declare each woman's personal strength and uniqueness in gestures such as
the guiding hands in The Colony and The
Quarry of the self-contained arm crossing in Property
Line, Leda, and Morning
Grace. There is a political dimension to Maddox's work, as well,
simply in his portraying women with new powers, with murderous and fiercely
libidinal urges. While creating new archetypes, he recasts old roles by
making clear the feminine consciousness that informs them. These subtexts
enhance what consistently emerges as his primary focus - the depiction of
women knowing and embracing nature, as comfortable with the earth as they
are with themselves.
Dr. Stephanie Gauper is
a professor of Literature and Renaissance Studies at Western Michigan University.
She writes extensively on women's psychology and spirituality.
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: return
to the previous page :
exhibition
: statement : catalogue : return
to main site :
: essay "Classical and Symbolic Dimensions in the Paintings of
Martin Maddox"
© Dr. Stephanie Gauper and reprinted here with her gracious permission
:
: any questions, comments, or problems, contact: info.mmaddox@gmail.com
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