Home
Talks
Rachel Maclean: Cutting Up the Canon of Art History
Rachel Maclean: Cutting Up the Canon of Art History
A common feminist critique of the history of art is that it's a male dominated canon; the timeline of art history studded with 'old masters', rather than noted mistresses. As multimedia artist Rachel Maclean contends, throughout art history 'artists are represented as men and very often the images they make are of women, or of women's bodies', these pictures produced through the lens of, and for the delectation of, the male gaze.
In this talk, Maclean describes the ways in which her film Make Me Up (2018) responds to and unsettles this traditional story of art.
Time Period:
Various
Rachel Maclean (b.1987) is a Glasgow-based multi-media artist who has rapidly established herself as one of the most distinctive creative voices in the UK. Creating baroque, hyper-real worlds using performance, green-screen technology and computer animation, Maclean spins razor-sharp contemporary fables that deal in timeless themes such as sexuality, power, innocence and corruption. She makes glowing, hyper-saturated videos using green screen technology and computer animation. Producing all the costumes, make up and sets and playing all the characters herself, Maclean creates disturbing yet hilarious narratives that blend appropriated present day pop cultural material with a multitude of narrative references.
Recent exhibitions include Too Cute! Sweet is About to Get Sinister, curated by Rachel Maclean, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (2019), Rachel Maclean: The Lion and The Unicorn, National Gallery, London (2018), Annual Commission, Zabludowicz Collection (2018), Spite Your Face in Chiesa Santa Caterina, Alchemy Film and Arts Scotland+Venice (2017), Wot u : - ) about?, HOME, Manchester and Tate Britain (2016), We Want Data!, Artpace San Antonio, Texas (2016), British Art Show 8 (2015), Ok, You've Had Your Fun, Casino Luxembourg (2015), Please, Sir..., Rowing, London (2014), The Weepers, Comar, Mull (2014) and Happy & Glorious, CCA, Glasgow (2014).
Watch More
Watch More
11:13
Rachel Maclean: Myth, National Identity and Power
Rachel Maclean explores the playful ways her video art questions contemporary politics.
24:05
Colourful Language: Red, White and Blue
Discover the symbolism, significance and spirituality of the colours red, white and blue throughout the history of art.
1:10
1 Minute 1 Work: Dunham Massey, Bird’s-eye View from the South
National Trust curator David Taylor remarks on a ‘portrait’ of a prosperous country estate near Manchester.
11:13
Rachel Maclean: Myth, National Identity and Power
Rachel Maclean explores the playful ways her video art questions contemporary politics.
24:05
Colourful Language: Red, White and Blue
Discover the symbolism, significance and spirituality of the colours red, white and blue throughout the history of art.
1:10
1 Minute 1 Work: Dunham Massey, Bird’s-eye View from the South
National Trust curator David Taylor remarks on a ‘portrait’ of a prosperous country estate near Manchester.
14:17
Omar Victor Diop: Black Subjects in the Frame
‘What gets remembered and what doesn’t?’ Mark Sealy examines searing moments in Black history through the lens of Omar Victor Diop’s powerful portraits.
10:56
Rembrandt: Facing the Darkness
Articulation prize winner Zach Taylor reveals the power of light and dark in Rembrandt’s self-portraits.
7:35
A Portrait of Humanity: The Compelling Story of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Discover the unexpected tale that lies behind ‘the face of abolition’, as painted by William Hoare.