Robert Barry: Vanitas Still Life

ESSAY: The artist Robert Barry states that “nothing keeps renewing itself the way art does” the meaning behind this statement can be supported by analysing the still life or vanitas of painting in western culture whilst looking through the post-modern frame. The use of the post-modern frame is to primarily analyse and interpret an artwork, taking into account the post-modern and temporary influences and how this many affect the making & meaning of the artwork. It is used to examine how changing the context of works can influence the interpretation of the artwork overall. In other words, it could be described as taking something old and making it new. Flemish still life’s were some of the earliest recorded still life paintings. The
Flack uses Trompe L’oeil to create the realism of the painting, but has made it clear that she is less interested in confusing truth with illusion than in capturing the integral truth of seeing, meaning that she doesn’t want to confuse the truth behind her paintings with the illusion of realism but would like to create the reality to which her audience can fully understand the context and social commentary behind her paintings. Another technique that Audrey uses is the dimensions of her paintings, making her paintings large enough so that if the viewer stands close, you cannot see anything but brush strokes, you need to take a few steps back and fully take in the big picture and all its symbolism together to
This painting illustrates the transient nature of this life. This painting also heavily uses symbolism to create an allegory of life and how no matter our status, or materialistic belongings in the end we will still come closer and closer to the inevitable death that is our fate. We can drown ourselves in jewels, wealth and all the pleasures that life gives us but that won’t stop death. Materials don’t last forever but memories do. Although Flack is heavily influenced by the work of 17th-century Dutch still life painters, by celebrating the lush textures and colours of the physical world with her densely packed depictions of illusionistically-rendered objects… she is also noticeably different to them as they depict allegories whereas she represents social issues of generations past and continuing, the painting renews itself with every new issue brought to the cause of the painting… furthermore renewing itself as the quote says. Along with this, Flemish/Dutch painters are more religiously based whereas Audrey is