Hung Liu Pollock states free essay sample

Painting is a returned gaze upon an absence, a loss that is summoned back to meet us at the surface where the painter has worked and history has been invoked. † In other words, Pollock describes Liu paintings as a reimbursed western gaze on forgotten women, reclaiming them to history by depicting them as prostitutes, mothers, and warriors. For example, Liu’s paintings give a modern spin on old Chinese values and images. Pollock’s theory of absence symbolizes the lost history of the Chinese women, which explains why Liu uses historic photographs of China as her key theme in all of her paintings. The multiple gazes layered throughout Liu’s painting Odalisque reclaim abandoned Chinese history with the use of traditional western medium. Pollock identifies three separate gazes in Odalisque, including the history of the photograph, the westernized painting techniques, and the viewer’s different perspectives of the painting. Converting the forgotten memory of a dejected Chinese prostitute and turning it into an elaborate westernized painting reclaims it to history. We will write a custom essay sample on Hung Liu Pollock states or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although, Western furnishings along with a Victorian-style backdrop directs the viewer’s gaze away from the innocent child and replaces it with a decorated commercialized painting. Odalisque embodies an image of a Chinese prostitute and offers a comparison of forgotten Chinese history and the history of the photograph, while also presenting an eye-catching gaze to its viewers. Pollock describes Liu’s medium of fluidity as an unmovable photograph suffused with color and contrast bringing out the true beauty of the once tiny insignificant photo. With the use of traditional Chinese techniques while offering a sufficient amount of western influence, Liu’s paintings help reclaim Chinese culture to the innovative socialized public. Liu’s use of color releases the stiffness of the photograph, bringing it to life for the first time, while allowing different types of viewers to enjoy the history depicted in her paintings. For instance, In Odalisque, Pollock describes how Liu shows the young women’s pain with white rigid ends and underlining the Western furnishing with moderate colors of red and polishes the entire painting with both Chinese intellects and the motion of American innovation. Pollock explains how Liu reclaims a disregarded and hidden part of Chinese history by describing her painting â€Å"Odalisque†. In Odalisque, Pollock describes how Liu takes a conventional photograph from Chinese history and gives it a westernized spin by outlining the important concepts with color, and giving the painting life by making it larger. In her painting, Liu transforms an unspoken memory of her countries history and surrounds it with positive Western mediums and technology. Through the Historical mediation, Liu is able to reclaim and honor the once reviled past of Chinese by depicting it as a progressive striking piece of artwork. History is so important to Liu because she feels it is her duty to reclaim and celebrate her cultures history, not only to honor its great accomplishments but to retell its forgotten breakdowns. Pollock’s essay irritates many important points about Chinese history and the life of Hung Liu. However, to me the most important point vexed in Liu’s life was her use of Western Techniques