Miriam Cahn: Probing Boundary Lines and Surfaces

Intro

Swiss painter Miriam Cahn was born on July 21, 1949. Cahn attended Schule für Gestaltung Basel in Basel from the late sixties to the early seventies. During this time, she became involved in feminist and anti-nuclear causes. Since then, Cahn has been a firm supporter of women’s rights and justice. Themes in her art revolve around affection, social relationships, asylum, and cruelty. Cahn works with a specific palette that uses subdued shades of color and brushstrokes of more vibrant hues to accentuate parts of bodies. Critics refer to her painting style as neo post-expressionism and describe Cahn’s images as having a ghostly pervasive mood. Apart from the enigmatic aspects present in her art, she dedicates special care to representing the eyes of the women portrayed in her paintings. The paintings meet the gaze of observers as they look at them. The Museum Für Gegenwartskunst, Tate Modern, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York are among the major institutions that have acquired her work.

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Process

Miriam Cahn views painting as performance art that she can complete in just two hours. Cahn used to find joy in painting people with a photorealistic style, but her current preference is to use vagueness to evoke uncertainty in the observer. Her paintings, which often appear roughly prepared and filled with vibrant colors, show her spontaneous nature. Miriam focuses on the process of painting rather than creating a specific masterpiece. She perceives every brush stroke as a note in a symphony that unfolds without a definitive ending.

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Mind Set and Themes

While Cohn is fine with erotic art produced by men, she feels that it often depicts women as passive. A unique visual feature in her art is the way her figures appear to make eye contact with the viewer. Cohn’s work comments on the world, reminding us she didn’t create it. She recognizes the ease with which one can become upset and how that feeling can become popular. Cohn’s work explores recurring themes that examine a political feminine perspective. She critiques hypothetical double standards that are prevalent in a democracy. The examples she uses in her work highlight the harsh contrast between clothing and nudity. Representing ghost-like figures or silhouettes with eyes signifies a deeper meaning related to self-reflection. Cohn illustrates how the Burqa or Niqab symbolize religious commitment while imposing a controlling ideology on women’s bodies.

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Cahn, who is of Jewish descent, references the historical custom of Jewish males wearing the traditional yamaka in a community that upholds democratic principles. In reality, tradition and progression coexist and clash. The layers of uniforms, regalia, and clothing often conceal the underlying attitudes of sexuality. According to Cahn, birth is the primary authority, and all other ideas come after. She explains in an interview on the Louisiana Channel how Mary and Jesus embody the concept of birth while withholding its natural components. Through her birth paintings, she offers unique and conflicting interpretations of nature. Cahn’s most overt example shows what she identifies as white supremacy pornography. In her drawing, a white man requires a black man to have sex with his white female companion. Cahn’s drawing suggests white man dominates beliefs of black man and woman.

Birth Predates Ideologies

Power carries the burden of expectations and inspires a yearning for characteristics such as perfection and purity. This can lead to a fascist ideology that values beliefs more than the individuals supporting them. Cahn leans towards vague gestures rather than precise imagery, possibly for this reason. It could also explain why nudity is a significant theme for her. We all start from the same spot. By gazing through this aperture or doorway, she explores the concepts of race and gender, empowering viewers to interpret the depiction of the human form while being scrutinized by the image’s own eyes. Once more, the theme revolves around birth and the manipulation of openings.

Viewer’s Experience

Deciphering Cahn’s message is the viewer’s responsibility. She recognizes viewers may interpret her figures’ raised hands as joy instead of fear of a gun. Is it conceivable that Cahn creates focal points for the viewer’s attention, using the eye as a weapon... or the other way around? There are themes in Cahn’s artwork that convey violence through fists or the use of erect penises to create a provocative narrative. However, there are many Cahn paintings that express healthy intimacy and feature male. nudes without a narrative.