The title of this artwork is Lying with the Wolf. The artist of this artwork is Kiki Smith, and the artwork was made in 2001, showing that the artwork made was very recent and only around 17 years ago, while the other artworks we view are centuries old. This quality of the artwork helps show the possibility of it portraying recent events and having more contemporary ways of thinking. The form and content of this artwork are simple, but have meaning behind the reason why they are chosen. The artwork is made from ink and pencil on paper. This means that the actual form of the artwork is ink and pencil on paper as well. This is a factor that portrays the artwork as being contemporary because many of the paintings seen have been made from rock or other objects while this painting is made from contemporary objects : ink and paper. the image in the artwork shows a nude woman who is reclining against a whole. The woman seems to be very comfortable and also appears to be intimate, or close with the wolf. This hints that the content of the artwork is also a woman who is reclining intimately against a wolf. The function of the artwork has many different purposes, but the main purpose is that the artwork is to show the interdependence between humans and prey. The connection between humans and predators is shown and the reverse relationship between the predator and prey. This is seen from the close intimacy of the woman and the animal in the actual artwork, showing that the artist aspired to highlight the connection between animals and humans. The artist could have had inspiration from the own personal connection with animals, showing the function of the artwork. There is a small portion of historical context of this artwork that provides insight into why the painting and the reason over the content for the painting. The artist was inspired by a woman who was the protagonist in stories such as little red riding hood. As many individuals know, the girl in this story is associated with a wolf and they are seen discussing different matters. When the artist read these stories, she gained inspiration from them and decided to make a painting similar to the plot line of those stories in that the relationship with the humans and the animals are very close. More historical context is that during this time period, there was a rise in women identity, so more women were comfortable with stating their wants and ideas towards a particular subject. Some social context in the artwork shown through the use of religion and how it has affect her through the use of making this artwork. As one knows, nature and region are closely related, as many gods or deities are related to the different forces of nature. The artist was strongly religious, and this helped her fascination of nature increase. When her interest in nature rose, she also began to make more artworks based off the forces of nature. In this, that is why the artwork show exhibits nature and the close relationship to humans. This is the historical and social context of the painting.
“Kiki Smith, Lying with the Wolf.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary/a/kiki-smith-lying-with-the-wolf.
“Kiki Smith Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-smith-kiki-artworks.htm.