Our resident writer Michaela Hall does not disappoint again with some great thoughts on this very diverse subject…
My honest valentine
With valentine’s day approaching fast, armies of chocolate boxes and teddy bears are lined up on the shelves of gift shops. There are two reactions to these commercial cues. There’s a fanciful and excitable element around for those loved up and often a dread and eye roll for those who aren’t as they pass by shop windows, the pressure of commerce eating into their personal lives. What you don’t see on these cards, however, is the reality of love in all its forms – of course, the gushing romantic love that comes to mind exists, but so does lust, loss, and indifference. Honesty about this is presented to us by creatives who aren’t afraid to bare all.
The most notoriously laid bare statement of lust and love comes from the rebellious famous ‘Young British Artist’ of the 90s, Tracey Emin. In her work ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995’ (1995) Emin laid bare her personal life in a way that was shocking in a much more polarised art world of young brash contemporary artists contrasted with high society, upper-class circles. The work consisted of a tent set up in the gallery space with materials appliqued on the inside panels depicting the names of everybody Emin had ever slept with. While all of these didn’t necessarily point to sexual relations, all those relations were obviously included in this and created a conversation around the nature of the names and what happened in each situation. Emin played with the viewer and appliqued the materials in a decorative, pretty, and innocent way that was much more light-hearted than the content beneath. By doing this she facilitated a more honest and open view of love, lust, and relationships.
Another artist who sought to show the beauty and honesty of everyday relationships is photographer Chris Killip. Killip’s works show the real side of humanity that we don’t see on greeting cards or tv adverts but that is more beautiful in its raw honesty and familiarity. In ‘Couple eating fish and chips, Whitley Bay, Tyneside’ (1976) we see a monochromatic depiction of a regular couple, having a day out together at the beach, there is no posed element to this – it is the opposite of artificial with both parties in the image squinting and halfway through eating their fish and chips. Despite this, this image is enticing, it’s familiar and comfortable and you can feel genuine companionship through the work that you don’t feel in traditional advertising around love and relationships. Similarly, in ‘Couple, Whitley Bay’ (1976) we see a depiction of a couple, relaxed, spending time together and getting close in what appears to be some sort of bus stop or public seating. This photograph again, avoids the cliches of romantic depiction, it is unglamorous and we can’t even see the couples’ faces. What we can see read is their body language and closeness in a setting that is familiar.
What both artists achieve in different ways here is to create a conversation around love and relationships without the honey glaze of valentines roses and chocolates, about real raw emotion and experience. Both artists are celebratory of the everyday occurrences that shape our lives, whether this is by revealing past intimate experiences in the bedroom or taking a snapshot of companionship in motion. An honest valentine’s gift of real life and its beauty.