Why’d You Paint That?
By: Didi Menendez
Tags: Instagram, Social Media, Artwork, Art, Painting

The stories behind some of the artworks I’ve seen posted on social media…

Social media is the 15 seconds of fame Andy Warhol predicted so many decades ago. Every artists has about that much time or less to capture the attention of their audience. If their audience stops long enough to read the the commentary the artist posted, they may find out a little more about the artwork but those first few seconds of grabbing the attention of followers swiping up and down on their apps is crucial.

Christina Ramos | The Butcher’s Daughter | acrylic on birch panel | 2020 | Photo reference: Facebook

One such artwork which made me stop swiping is The Butcher’s Daughter by Christina Ramos. As the title suggests the nostalgic painting above is of the daughter of a butcher. In this case, it is also a self portrait of the artist as a child standing next to the family business which is butchery. Christina can trace the business all the way back to her great grandfather.

Many artists have drooled when coming into contact with a slaughterhouse. The ability to capture the human condition in its most native form has been a sought after theme since biblical times. For example the story of Cain and Abel.

Francis Bacon most notably painted figures with hanging meat several times.

Francis Bacon | Figure with Meat | Copyright: © The Estate of Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, Second Version of Painting, 1946 (1971) | Photo Reference: Riot Material

Having grown up as a butcher’s daughter, Christina Ramos did not like the taste of meat from an early age. She started writing to PETA at the age of 11.

I used to hear the singing of the knife on the honing steel on Sunday mornings before the new work week.

Growing up a female who is not expected to take on the family business was cause enough to rebel. Christina was a child during the 1960’s when the Vietnam war was in the cusp of protests. When you turned on the TV, you’d not only see the Beatles and Supremes on the Ed Sullivan Show, you’d be interrupted by Walter Cronkite with another assassination or another burning or another catastrophe. It was a time when females still were expected to marry well and take a back seat in any business discussions.

Sixty years later, here we are in a pandemic and another tumultuous year. Ramos whose work until now has mostly leaned toward illustration, has come full circle with this self portrait. Placing the bloody cleaver at the edge of the painting symbolizes many historical aspects of the times she lived in as a child. The cleaver is also an act of defiance.

Placing the female child in the middle acts as an additional carcass in the painting just as Francis Bacon did with the seated clergy in the purple gown.

Even to this day, gender still plays a role dictating wages especially in the art world.

One of the comments I received on my Instagram when I posted this painting was: “That meat standing in front of the cows looking real juicy.” I think this was an insightful comment because women to this date in many countries are still being treated like meat.

Another comment I received was “This painting is brilliantly executed. Being a vegetarian I feel this really shows how perverse the human consumption of meat is. The innocent girl stands by…”

I feel this painting hit a nerve and that is enough cause to stop scrolling to the next piece of artwork and savor the morsel presented to you on social media.