Existing comment:
Yellow Deb, Red Deb, Silver Deb, Blue Deb
Deborah Kass born 1952
Born San Antonio, Texas
Deb Kass has been one of the most consistently innovative and productive artists of the post-Pop era. Early in her career, Kass, following Andy Warhol, became interested in appropriation: adapting and changing other works of art to elaborate on -- and change -- the art historical tradition. In Yellow Deb, Red Deb, Silver Deb, and Blue Deb, she models her self-portrait on Warhol's screenprints of celebrities surrounded by resplendently colored backgrounds. While in some respects the self-portraits closely imitate Warhol's 1964 print of Elizabeth Taylor, Kass's subtle shifts change the meaning to reflect her own themes: her gender, Jewishness, and sexuality. In repurposing Warhol's style, she challenges the male-dominated art world; in choosing Taylor, she plays on the actress's WASP background and conversion to Judaism; and in borrowing the heavy makeup, she implies an ironic, hypergirlish reference to her lesbianism.
Self-portraits
Screenprints, 2012 |