ORGA, Ma. Ericca D.

Art Appreciation

BSEd-EN 2D February 16, 2019

Costas Fragli (Fragile Ribs)

By Otto Neri

Oil and Acrylic on Canvas

The painting exhibits the gender symbol for woman (Venus symbol) and it
is colored in pink because usually pink is always associated to women.
Surrounding the Venus symbol, inside the ring is assumed to be Eve for she holds
a fruit, Eve according to the bible is the first woman created by God in order to
accompany Adam and I analyzed the name of the painting and I see the
reason why it was named Fragile Ribs for God get a piece of Adam’s rib in order
to create her. Below her is Marilyn Monroe, the renowned and popular
Hollywood Actress in the 1950’s. She had become a beauty standard back in
the 50’s and she moved the world by her prowess on acting, although she had
a grim past that did not cease her to achieve her dreams. Below the ring is the
cross and at the right side of the cross lies Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. Mary
was chosen by God to be Jesus’ and as we all know being a mother is not easy,
especially if your child is the Messiah. On the left side of the cross lies Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, a nun who dedicated her life to help the poor in the slums of
India instead of staying inside the confined walls of the convent. Going to the
lower part of the cross you can see Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican Female
Painter who used her art in order to express herself, her political opinions and to
get through life. Frida suffered because of her bone fractures due to the
accident she had when she was younger. The pain she had experienced took a
toll in her life; because of that illness she is unable to bear a child because
childbirth would be an agony. It also made her hard to act normally and
actively because the braces she wears restraints her. She also suffered
miscarriages. But despite all of that employed a naïve folk art style in order to
explore questions of identity, post-colonialism and gender equality. Her works
also promoted the Mexican culture.

Going upward to the ring on the left side of Marilyn is Princess Diana of
Wales, a member of the British royal family and regarded as the “Queen of
Hearts” because of her kind heart and altruism also she broke some traditional
norms that are unreasonable to begin with. Above Princess Diana is an Egyptian
deity named Isis. She is a caring goddess and loved all, even her envious
brother, Seth. It is said in the Egyptian mythology that she protected the children
and heal the sick. Going to the upper right side is the muse of Leonardo da
Vinci’s famous painting, Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa inspires da Vinci to paint and it
had become his masterpiece. Lastly, below Mona Lisa is another iconic
Hollywood British Actress named Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn is not just a
pretty face in Hollywood for she also did humanitarian works.

The work has a relevance to what is happening in our time today since
the art work’s main concern is obviously about Women and Feminism and until
now the women in our society still fights equality because toxic masculinity is still
rampant up to this day. Luckily based on the survey , Philippines is one of the top
10 who successfully promoted Gender Equality but I am still unconvinced
especially when we start bringing up issues like catcalling, sexual harassment,
sexual abuse and rape. Because tradition and conservative ideas that
stereotypically describes woman just to be like this or like that is still present up to
this point and for it to be eradicated is not easy. Men telling women that they
should not do this, wear this, go to places like this because they know what will
happen and it is sad to think that men think women merely as objects or
something that they can just command. While observing and analyzing the
artwork, Marilyn Monroe really got my attention because above all the other
women in the artwork, she had the not-so-good fate because her cause of
death is due to substance abuse because she is failing short in that time of her
life. The painting does not only points out feminism but it also shows how fragile
and vulnerable yet strong and determined these women are. Also Frida Kahlo’s
life is not easy, she expressed her happiness and pain through her work, and she
also uses it as a political agenda to speak up what she believes in. The painting
made me realize that fighting for women’s right doesn’t have to be expressed in
such intensive ways because even in our own unique ways we can promote it.
The painting also made me realize that one should be a loving and caring
person so that you will not just be an advocate for gender equality but you can
also be an advocate for humanity to flourish. It shows how gentle women are
but with the right disposition, we can achieve things. We may not totally solve
the problems of the world but the thought that each of us are trying to change
how things go is a good start.

As a young woman in the 21st Century, people expect you to do drastic

things instantly is so hard. I am so happy to say that I grew up in a surrounding
where as a woman you must know to do things that men usually do. My mother
taught me that I cannot just depend to anyone in order for me to do things,
therefore I must learn. My mother and father are separated so I am only around
with my mother and two sisters. We did not have the so-called protector or a
man figure in the house because my father works abroad and with that I got
used by working my way to do things alone. My mother managed to take care
of us because technically, it is only her who raised us up since my father is
working abroad. I have a penchant for strong female characters in a book or a
movie. I think the main attribute that makes a woman strong is not her resiliency
but her vulnerability and sensitivity because to be strong, one should accept her
weaknesses. The artwork erupts a feeling of hope, empowerment and
motivation to me because in the painting are powerful women that we had
through time and it is thrilling and surprising to know that a man named Otto Neri
painted this because I think it is hard as a man to put yourself in the shoes of a
woman but seeing how effortlessly beautiful this one came out, it is just
mesmerizing to think about it. I think the artwork is not only for women alone but
it is for everyone because after all we all need someone to look up to and these
people created changes in our world.
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ERICCA