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Lucas Samaras, born 1936
Lucas Samaras is a complicated artist who works in a wide variety of mediums, including assemblage, photography, sculpture, and performance. Born in Kastoria, Macedonia, in Greece, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager and attended Rutgers University in New Jersey. While there, he studied with artists George Segal and Allan Kaprow, and participated in Kaprow's Happenings in the 1960s. Samaras uses his own image to explore themes of sexuality, terror, mortality and transformation. In this supersized self-portrait, set in his studio, he portrays himself as a looming figure, dressed in a robe resembling a religious vestment. The dramatic lighting, with tones of red, green, and black, adds to his ominous presence. His gaze is imperious while his pose is aggressive, seemingly poised to react to a challenge from the viewer. Samaras remarked, "You may like my work; you may find, however, that you do not like me."
1983 |