Michael Kvium - Køkkenscene

Michael Kvium is a Danish visual artist who was born in 1955. Michael Kvium has had several gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the Gallery Faurschou, Beijing and at the Galleri Faurschou.

To make the analysis easier, I share the picture in two. In the right part of the image, you can see the stage itself, where there is a naked woman, with an apron. Her head is not proportional to her body when her head is small compared to her huge body. She is bent over a girl. The girl is a stereotypical 10-year-old girl who has a yellow T-shirt and a red dress. She has spiky pigtails and also she has a pig nose.
Along a purple curtain in left hanging, top, 4 gaping angels. They are small and are formed as babies with curls and feathered wings on his back. Below those are 3 almost jubilant demon-like figures.

The scene that takes place inside a kitchen is partially transparent, with half of the stage is obscured by the veil. The picture as a whole is fully manageable. It is believed this is a afternoon in the summer, the daughter has T-shirt. Furthermore a sunshine in from the right from a open window. The wind from the open window gives a slight breeze as window curtain flapping, and the entire curtain shape provides a diagonal movement of the upper right downward to the left and the shape is echoed in the mother's body shape and curtain form.

In the foreground of the picture you can see a kitchen that is green and the color identical with devils. In the background, there is depicted a white oven and a white refrigerator, color-wise equal with the angels. The water tap running, so I conclude see that the mother is starting to wash up. Based on these appliances, and a power meter which is in the background, one can conclude that it is in modern times. Around the subject is environment cropped on one side and the other side is the veil that covering our view of the rest of the small kitchen. This means that you will focus on the action and the makes the picture for a snapshot.

The left side of the image with the angels and devils are seen from the front view, and act right is seen slightly from left bird's eye view. We can not clearly determine the basis of the characters, But if you look at the refrigerator, behind and sink, right, works the scene from above. Therefore, you also get a full view of the girl's face as she looks up. Her gaze slides over towards the viewer, but also of the angels. It is very characteristic that you look up, if you strangulation. In the girl's case, she looks up, but also up to the angels at the curtain. The viewer's position is therefore on the basis of the edge is the large shield which is inclined to the right of action.

I suspect that the woman is the mother of the girl, even though they are physically profound contradictions. She is currently of strangling the child. The girl stretches her arms out to the sides and opens his mouth in hopes of a last bite air. While hanging angels and devils along the curtain and observe in their own manner. The angels are gaping with contempt for the event and hope that the mother stops.

Devils however, are curious to smile and playful attitudes. The action is realistic, but the people at the curtain is unrealistic, for the earth is not devils and angels. The mother's body shape is unrealistic and seems surreal. Her body is geometrically with straight arms and triangular breasts. The environment is also geometric, and on the right side of the image is everything, daughter, environment and operation, realistic except the mother who with her unreal body stands out.

The picture, design, works spontaneously. The mother could have sneaked up on her daughter as she chokes her from behind since she is covered by shadow. The mother's physical proportions do not fit with her daughter's physical form. Therefore, when in doubt that it is a mother and a daughter. But it is up to the viewer to think about it. Picture's action is anti-enlightenment. It defies Immanuel Kant's adage "Sapere Aude" - "You have to have the courage to use his reason." The mother does not use his reason for killing her child. Angels baby body shape and what to use angels in his painting is inspired by Baroque. In the Baroque period in Italy had painted angels in the churches that look like the angels who are in this picture. In that time, ideal that connected the earthly life of illusions and death and the dualistic belief gave contrasting between heaven and earth, the sky was like a wonderful place with tranquility. Therefore, the angels painted the picture and the girl looking up at the angels, to the hope that the mother can use his reason. The dark shadow that covers the mother alludes not only to the action, but it symbolizes also evil. Girl tøjfarver symbolizes summer and heat. The symbolic contrast between mother and daughter are great, like the physical contrast. It is typical Michael Kvium to exhibit man completely natural, and not, for example. cosmetic intervention or quite simply a bra. Her head also seems completely out of place compared to her big body. This little head symbolizes the place where one has his reason, his intellectuality and it is which, via learned norms draws its decisions / actions and that is exactly what she does not. The body is however great the picture and it requires a symbolic way of a great body and not a large head to kill her child. For most people with modern humanity would the mother appear as something ugly. Therefore painter Kvium veil, so you can pull it and miss it as you for example. doing in theater.

It is again typical Michael Kvium that he will express what that man will not normally see. Not only act as mother perpetrators, but also the body. The body most since the modern kropssyn abhor, little square, an ugly body. It works for us disgusting. Looking at action suit angels and devils well into the samples on their way to control what we shall see. The angels as opponent of the mother's action and the demons which calls for action. Due to the choice of angels and demons make the subject heavenly / earthly. Kvium choice of the number of angels and demons can perceive such that when there are 3 angels and a angel whose main sticking into the picture and 3 demons, it may symbolize that the good is the majority. In the majority if one divides the angels as good and demons as bad, and it makes mother did not kill her child. Varies from person to person form you are your own hypothesis action future. His message, I think, is that sometimes you want to kill her children, if the example. is annoying, but you would never do it. Therefore, the small head to show that at it rewarding time not using his reason, and when you do not have his guardian angel to guide one through the right solution. Therefore, only the angel, which is shown at least, there is the head. When the head symbolizes sense, and angels come with reason and love is the head of a well chosen symbol.
If you let the brain run a little as an observer, you will see the mother looking down and the girl look up even though their positions are reversed for their actions, at least the mother. So seen from their actions is mother to the ground and daughter, as an innocent object belongs in heaven.