Edvardas art attempts to embrace the world through acceptance and understanding, and through the beauty inherent in the world.
A collage in paint
By Ida Sannes Hansen
“I am infected by the aesthetic disease that affects all who aren’t resistant to mass media’s power and manipulation.” A meeting with Edvardas work can be likened to a spirited journey through a host of well known images, collected and presented in a beautiful way. Her work is comprised of layer upon layer of reference and meaning collected in a non hierarchical mix, everything from Renaissance imagery, fashion photography and personal writings. Her sources are accessible and easily recognizable to all, and therefore universal in their meaning. The paintings represent themselves provocatively with aesthetically pleasing portrayals of contemporary humanity and its visual culture.
Parallel universes
Today both Internet and television has made it possible for people to multitask in a revolutionary way. What lies in store for modern man in this sea of information? The usual standpoint in this debate is to present a fragmented and manipulated person which allows them to be passively coerced by mass media. Edvardas art stands as a balance against the neo conceptual social critic found in art from the 90’s by not solely criticizing society. Her artwork can be compared to a sponge which has been immersed in a mixture of contemporary visual culture thus attracting to it differing impressions from various viewpoints.
A dj with a pallet
Like a dj samples Edvarda takes differing visual elements which she finds beautiful, interesting or provoking. This sample strategy walks hand in hand with what Nicolas Bourriaud describes in his book Postproduction – Culture as screenplay: How art reprograms the world (2000). Here Bourriaud defines several contemporary artist techniques comparing them to a DJs mixing. According to Bourriaud contemporary artists are increasingly translating and reproducing all available sources from, fine arts and popular culture just as a dj would compose a song from varying samples. When one utilizes already existing references one can further advance the meaning. Edvardas strategy can be compared to a collage in paint where she often compiles her work using contradictory provocative themes such as religion and sexuality. Her art can be interpreted as a reprogramming of already existing material.
Contemporary Renaissance
Edvarda emphasizes her admiration for great artists which use painting to express universal meanings such as religion, people and its place in history. She composes grand historical paintings inspired by the traditions of artists such as Balthus’s semi erotic life portraits, Rene Magrittes surreal paintings and Puvis de Chavannes friezes from Phanteon in Paris. Edvarda incorporates techniques including, eggtempera and oil on canvas to emphasize the depth and glow one associates with traditional art, the line in her artwork in non the less very apparent. The various figures are drawn by a confident hand, and are stylized in shades from light pastel to dark organic hues. Her aesthetics are clean and organized, and can be likened to Pop art, Belgian surrealism and the timeless masters. Edvarda is inspired by Renaissance artists such as Giotto, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, and Piero della Francescas. This period of time was revolutionary for both technology and art. This expanding of knowledge can be compared to the IT revolution we now witness.
A captivating art form
Edvarda is fascinated by the American artist Jeff Koons. In similarity with Andy Warhol, Koons mixes and appropriates between high and low culture. Jeff Koons has himself said in an interview that he wishes to produce art using advertising techniques by captivating and giving an immediate impression that the audience understands at first sight. Edvarda herself uses images from advertising such as fashion photography. She describes how she uses marketing’s captivating techniques to draw the audience into her universe. Paintings tactility has also this aesthetic quality. Advertising and fashion photography takes advantage of beautiful, easily recognizable and shocking imagery to convince and attract the viewer. An advert can lure the viewer into seeing teenagers as sexual objects due to their posing or clothes they are modeled in. Mass media often uses harsh methods to awake attention. Edvarda herself says; “I am infected by the aesthetic disease that affects all who aren’t resistant to mass media’s power and manipulation.” Beauty has at times been looked upon as kitsch and less interesting since readymade and conceptual art first appeared. However we must not forget that art has always incorporated beauty to attract the public. Edvarda revitalizes the beauty in art by investigating modern beauty with manipulating qualities.
