Moore, Shauna MLS Thesis

61 Pages·2012·14.51 MB·English

Primitivism
 and
 Paradise:

The
 Myth
 of
 Innocence

as
 Depicted
 in
 the
 Works
 of
 Ruud
 van
 Empel

and
 His
 Artistic
 Influences

A
 PROJECT

 SUBMITTED
 TO
 THE
 FACULTY
 OF
 THE
 GRADUATE
 SCHOOL

 OF
 THE
 UNIVERSITY
 OF
 MINNESOTA

BY

Shauna
 C.
 Moore

IN
 PARTIAL
 FULFILLMENT
 OF
 THE
 REQUIREMENTS

FOR
 THE
 DEGREE
 OF

MASTER
 OF
 LIBERAL
 STUDIES

August
 2012
©2012
 Shauna
 C.
 Moore
To
 Jim,
 the
 love
 of
 my
 life.

Without
 your
 love,
 guidance
 and
 support

this
 work
 would
 not
 be
 possible.

To
 Georgie,
 Carlos,
 and
 Lenny
 who
 all

encourage
 my
 search
 for
 paradise.

  i
O
 human
 race,
 born
 to
 fly
 upward,
 wherefore
 at
 a
 little
 wind
 dost
 thou
 so
 fall?

―
 Dante
 Alighieri,
 The
 Divine
 Comedy

  ii
CONTENTS

List
 of
 Illustrations………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..iv

Chapter:

1
 -­‐
 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..1

2
 -­‐
 Eden:
 Historic
 Origins,
 Interpretation
 of
 its
 Meaning
 and
 Why
 it
 is
 Relevant………………………..4

3
 -­‐
 Primitivist
 Art
 and
 Paul
 Gauguin…………………………………………………………………………………….…..12

4
 -­‐
 Primitivism
 as
 Orientalism………………..………………………………………………………………………………..24

5
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30

6
 -­‐
 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..41

 Bibliography………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………..49

  iii
ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure
 1
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Emple,
 World,
 2005….......................................................................…………….1

Figure
 2
 -­‐
 William
 Blake,
 The
 Temptation
 and
 Fall
 of
 Eve,
 1808……………………………………………….…4

Figure
 3
 -­‐John
 Calvin,
 Map
 of
 Biblical
 Regions
 of
 the
 Middle
 East,
 1568…………………………………….8

Figure
 4
 -­‐
 Frontpiece
 of
 Elvy
 Edison
 Callaway's
 book,
 In
 the
 Beginning
 locating
 Eden
 in
 the

Florida
 Panhandle,
 1971……………………………………………………………………………………..………….8

Figure
 5
 -­‐
 Javanese
 Village
 at
 the
 Paris
 Exposition
 1889……………………………………………………………13

Figure
 6
 -­‐
 Henri
 Rousseau,
 Eve,
 1906……………………………………………………………………………………….14

Figure
 7
 -­‐
 Henri
 Rousseau,
 The
 Dream,
 1910……………………………………………………………………….…..15

Figure
 8
 -­‐
 Photograph
 of
 Gauguin’s
 mother,
 1886……………………………………………………………………17

Figure
 9
 -­‐
 Paul
 Gaugin,
 Exotic
 Eve,
 1890…………………………………………………………………………………..17

Figure
 10
 -­‐
 Paul
 Gaugin,
 "Te
 Nave
 Nave
 Fenue",
 or
 The
 Delighful
 Land,
 1891…………………………..20

Figure
 11
 -­‐
 Paul
 Gauguin,
 Merahi
 Metua
 no
 Tehamana
 (Tehamana
 Has
 Many
 Parents),
 1893..23

Figure
 12
 -­‐
 P.
 Godey,
 French
 Colonial
 with
 Polynesian
 Woman,
 1880………………………………………24

Figure
 13
 -­‐
 Explore
 Tahiti
 Brochure,
 1985………………….…………………………………………………………….27

Figure
 14
 -­‐
 Paul
 Gauguin,
 Words
 of
 the
 Devil,
 1892……………………………………………………….…………28

Figure
 15
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World
 #4,
 2005……………………………………………………………….…………..31

Figure
 16
 -­‐
 Unknown
 Artist,
 Josephine,
 1871……………………………………………………………….…………..32

Figure
 17
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World
 #1,
 2005………………………………………………………….……………..…33

Figure
 18
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World
 #21,
 2006…….………………………………………………………………..….34

Figure
 19
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World
 #3,
 2005……………………………………………………………….…………..34

  iv
Figure
 20
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 Venus
 #3,
 2007……..………….………………………………………..……………….35

Figure
 21
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 Venus
 #7,
 2008……………………………………………………………..…………….36

Figure
 22
 -­‐
 Robert
 Mapplethorpe,
 Rosie,
 1976………………………………………………………….…………....
 37

Figure23
 -­‐
 Sally
 Mann,
 untitled
 (from
 Immediate
 Family),
 1986……………………………………..……....37

Figure
 24
 -­‐
 Henri
 Rousseau,
 The
 Snake
 Charmer,
 1907…………………………………………………..………..39

Figure
 25
 -­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World
 #24,
 2007……………………………………………………….………..……….40

Figure
 26-­‐Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 Venus
 #5,
 2007……………………………………………………………...……………..41

Figure
 27-­‐Lucas
 Cranach
 the
 Elder,
 detail
 from
 Adam
 and
 Eve,
 1528……………………………………….45

Figure
 28-­‐
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 Venus
 #1,
 2006………………………………………………………….….……………..45

Figure
 29-­‐
 Lucas
 Cranach
 the
 Elder,
 Venus,
 1532……………………………………………………………………..46

  v
Chapter
 1

INTRODUCTION

Dark
 with
 excessive
 bright
 .
 .
 .

-­‐John
 Milton

Figure
 1
 Ruud
 van
 Empel,
 World,
 2005

Ruud
 van
 Empel
 is
 a
 contemporary
 photographic
 artist.

 Although
 the
 images
 he
 creates
 are

naturalistic,
 they
 depict
 a
 paradise
 that
 does
 not-­‐-­‐and
 never
 has-­‐-­‐existed.

 Using
 computer

technology
 to
 manipulate
 his
 images,
 van
 Emple
 creates
 exotic,
 gardenlike
 settings
 populated

with
 dreamy
 adolescents
 and
 children
 who
 embody
 innocence
 (Figure
 1).
 His
 extraordinary

  1
photographs
 are
 simultaneously
 beautiful
 and
 inherently
 unsettling.
 What
 assumptions
 do

artists
 and
 we
 as
 viewers
 project
 on
 images
 of
 innocence?

 What,
 if
 anything,
 does
 van
 Empel

try
 to
 communicate
 in
 his
 imagery?
 If
 anything,
 his
 artwork
 evokes
 the
 imagery
 of
 late
 19th
 and

early
 20th
 century
 Primitivism,
 especially
 works
 by
 Paul
 Gauguin
 and
 Henri
 Rousseau.

Reminding
 us
 of
 Gauguin
 and
 Rousseau,
 van
 Empel’s
 art
 resonates,
 confronting
 us
 with
 the
 still

persistent,
 complex,
 and
 sometimes
 disturbing
 imagery
 that
 underlies
 Primitivism
 with
 its

connection
 to
 the
 Eden
 myth,
 specifically
 the
 idea
 of
 innocence
 in
 paradise.

The
 myth
 of
 innocence
 in
 the
 Garden
 of
 Eden
 holds
 sway
 over
 our
 modern
 imaginations.

 The

story
 of
 the
 Garden
 of
 Eden
 is
 one
 of
 the
 most
 persistent
 myths
 in
 recorded
 time,
 a
 myth
 that

many
 still
 literally
 believe.

 Prior
 to
 partaking
 of
 the
 forbidden
 fruit,
 the
 inhabitants
 of
 Eden,

Adam
 and
 Eve,
 lived
 in
 a
 garden
 of
 peace
 that
 promised
 permanent
 youthfulness,
 and,
 above

all,
 a
 state
 of
 constant
 innocence.

 It
 is
 my
 intention
 to
 focus
 on
 this
 state
 of
 innocence,
 how
 it

has
 been
 depicted
 by
 the
 artists
 mentioned,
 and
 to
 reveal
 the
 both
 beautiful
 and
 dangerous

implications
 that
 the
 notion
 of
 innocence
 casts
 upon
 its
 subjects
 and
 society.
 It
 is
 also
 my

intention
 to
 demonstrate
 how
 Ruud
 van
 Emple
 uses
 the
 artistic
 language
 of
 Primitivism
 and

how
 this
 language
 is
 both
 beautiful
 and
 terrible.

The
 Paradise
 myth
 has
 cross-­‐cultural
 roots
 and
 remains
 relevant
 to
 contemporary
 culture
 as

demonstrated
 in
 art
 and
 literature.

 The
 Eden
 myth
 specifically
 speaks
 in
 a
 fundamental
 way
 to

our
 basic
 human
 nature.

 Paradise,
 as
 told
 in
 the
 Eden
 story,
 tells
 of
 temptation,
 taboo,
 and,

ultimately,
 a
 developing
 awareness
 of
 erotic
 desire.

 It
 is
 a
 place
 that
 begins
 in
 innocence,
 is

taken
 away,
 and
 ends,
 for
 some,
 with
 a
 longing
 to
 return.

 Admittedly,
 these
 are
 large
 themes.
 I

will
 explore
 how
 the
 element
 of
 innocence
 that
 underlies
 this
 story
 remains
 relevant
 to
 us

today,
 and
 how
 the
 meaning
 underlying
 the
 myth
 of
 Paradise
 has
 cross-­‐cultural
 artistic
 and

social
 implications.

The
 idea
 of
 Paradise
 as
 a
 garden
 filled
 with
 sensuality,
 and
 as
 a
 promised
 place
 filled
 with

rewards
 and
 even
 sexual
 discovery,
 stems
 from
 some
 of
 our
 most
 basic
 desires.

 Not
 simply
 a

  2
nostalgic
 tale
 of
 a
 simpler
 time,
 the
 Eden
 myth
 is
 a
 metaphor
 for
 making
 sense
 of
 life’s
 struggles

while
 giving
 hope
 for
 a
 better
 place
 to
 which
 we
 may
 someday
 return.

 The
 story
 of
 Eden

persists
 because
 of
 a
 desire
 to
 return
 to
 innocence
 and
 guilt-­‐free
 pleasure
 paired
 with

abundance
 and
 peace.

 The
 hope
 for
 a
 return
 to
 paradise
 is
 thus
 a
 hope
 for
 a
 return
 to
 lost

innocence.

 In
 looking
 at
 van
 Empel
 and
 his
 influences,
 I
 will
 further
 examine
 how
 innocence
 is
 portrayed

and
 will
 consider
 the
 implications.
 I
 will
 look
 at
 how
 the
 idealized
 state
 of
 innocence,
 goodness,

and
 purity
 still
 has
 an
 allure
 in
 contemporary
 art
 and
 thought.
 Even
 when
 not
 literally
 recreating

the
 Eden
 story
 in
 their
 art,
 the
 imagery
 and
 themes
 of
 Eden
 and
 innocence
 reoccur
 time
 and

again
 in
 the
 works
 of
 many
 artists.

 If
 images
 portrayed
 in
 popular
 culture
 are
 any
 indication,

the
 desire
 to
 return
 to
 a
 state
 of
 youth
 and
 innocence
 is
 as
 strong
 as
 ever.

 The
 conflict
 between

profane
 desire
 and
 a
 sacred
 aspiration
 for
 peace
 and
 perfection
 as
 told
 in
 this
 story
 holds
 clues

to
 the
 aesthetic
 experience
 demonstrated
 in
 our
 struggle
 with
 suffering
 and
 desire.

As
 I
 explore
 these
 ideas
 I
 will
 examine
 the
 historic
 context
 for
 Primitivism,
 demonstrating
 a

connection
 between
 Primitivism
 and
 the
 idealization
 of
 Edenic
 innocence.
 The
 longing
 for

innocence
 led
 to
 exploitation
 by
 Paul
 Gauguin,
 a
 French
 Post-­‐Impressionist
 painter.

Exploitation
 was
 a
 sub-­‐text
 throughout
 the
 history
 of
 colonization
 during
 the
 age
 of

Enlightenment.
 With
 library
 sources
 and
 secondary
 data
 gathered
 by
 others,
 I
 will
 consider

many
 of
 the
 ideas
 surrounding
 Primitivism,
 the
 Eden
 story,
 and
 the
 social
 implications
 of

innocence
 as
 put
 forth
 by
 a
 variety
 of
 philosophers,
 religious
 thinkers
 and
 other
 scholars.

 The

implications
 are
 profoundly
 contemporary.

  3