Tahitian Girl ca. 1896,
created from two separate but conjoined wood carvings. The Head, and Torso are
conjoined by a small metal bracket on the back and the seam is covered by a
felt necklace. The necklace includes a mother-of-pearl amulet, a braid, and a
small pink shell.
Gauguin left France for
the South Seas in 1887 in hopes of finding a culture unchanged by modern
civilization. Although Tahiti had been
long-ago despoiled by contact with Europeans, Gauguin propagated in his art the
fantasy of a 'primitive' island paradise.
This sculpture is
interesting to me because the discrepancy in size of the torso and head. The
head being bigger makes me feel like she is portraying a sense of being proud
and strong. While her body is smaller portrays to me her sense of insecurity.
When you’re scared you push your shoulders out and display this confidence but
really you want to curl up in the fetal position.
