Accession Number
1993/1.115.4

Title
Mother's Kisses: THEY DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER

Artist(s)
Dotty Attie

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1982

Medium & Support
lithograph on Arches paper

Dimensions
6 in x 6 in (15.24 cm x 15.24 cm);7 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in x 3/4 in (18.4 cm x 18.4 cm x 1.9 cm);3 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in (8.9 cm x 8.9 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
For more than twenty years Dotty Attie has adapted scenes from famous Old Master paintings, calling attention both to her sources and her reinterpretations. This lithograph culls the figures of Venus and Cupid from Bronzino's mid-16th century painting "The Exposure of Luxury." To this portrayal of incest she juxtaposes a series of details. These present fragments of their bodies, which fetishizes those anatomical parts. These details are interspersed with texts that comment ironically on this perverted mother-child relationship.

Subject matter
This text comments on the central figures of Venus and Cupid from Bronzino's mid-16th century painting "An Allegory with Venus and Cupid," also known as "Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time" which have been sampled by Dottie Attie in the first image in this portfolio. By pulling Venus and Cupid, from the original painting and adding details and text via the other pages of the portfolio, such as this, Attie eliminates mythical references and symbols of Renaissance refinement and focuses in on the erotic undertones of the work. 

Physical Description
This small print consists of a block of text reading, "THEY DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER" centered on white paper, in a square mat.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
American (North American)
Venus
allegory (artistic device)
cupids
feminists (people)
kisses
modern and contemporary art
mothers
nudes
sons (people)
texts (documents)