Marc quinn

Editor's Notes

• #4: Both Aphrodite and Venus were more significant cultural figures back in their times. However, Quinn is right is saying Kate Moss is a "cultural hallucination" where the person and the myth about her are disconnected. Where Aphrodite was a figure of an ancient sexually-charged cult, Kate Moss is more an icon of style over substance. So maybe the issue is more about who/what we choose to gaze upon and worship these days.
• #5: Quinn, 46, has long been interested in “otherness”, in showing bodies different from the average human form. His sculpture of Lapper was rightly lauded for drawing attention to the confident sexuality and humanity of a woman with a disability. He shares an interest in playing with proportion and scale with the ultra-realist sculptor Ron Mueck, and, like Antony Gormley, his installations force the viewer to reflect on their own bodies in relation to his sculpture and the environment they occupy. is one more or less one's self after cosmetic surgery?’ Quinn's new models range from characters such as the tabloid favourite 'Catman' (Dennis Avner, who has been tattooed to look like a cat) and 'the pregnant man' (Thomas Beatie) to niche porn stars such as Buck, a 'man with a pussy', and Allanah Starr, a man who has changed her body into the idealisation of femininity even though she also has a penis. Although all modelled from life, these bodies seem to exist beyond the normal boundaries of classification - appearing almost 'trans-gender', or 'trans-corporeal' - throwing the very notion of identity into question, exposing it as a fragile, complex and multi-layered construction, interminably co-existent with their external physical selves.Quinn's portrait sculpture 'Buck & Allanah' depicts the couple standing hand in hand, like a latter day Adam and Eve, striding out into their future as radically altered beings. The sculpture of Thomas Beatie depicts him at full-term pregnancy, shyly bowing his head and cradling his stomach with two hands, appearing like a masculine Virgin Mary, displaying some kind of miraculous conception. This “sex sculpture” is the most problematic in the show, and betrays a search for shock at the expense of a more responsible reflection of transgenderism. What made Quinn’s sculptures of Lapper stand out was that she was an ordinary woman, quietly going about her life, who just happened to have a disability; he reflected her integrity and dignity. But Alannah and Buck are not ordinary transgender people — they are porn stars. The sculptures reveal an obsession with their freakiness, rather than a sensitive interest in telling their story.
• #6: Quinn has always been interested in the public's obsession with the body, its perfections and flaws, and how this obsession has led some people to alter their bodies in increasingly extreme ways. 'The Complete Marbles' series was an investigation of 'imperfect' bodies, In his most recent series of sculptures, Quinn uses the traditional medium of marble to create works depicting people who have lost or are born without limbs. The sculptures were carved to exact instructions by stone masons, using perfect white marble. The works show exact likenesses of the sitters, who were either damaged in the womb or through accident, war or illness. The perfection of the marble and precise replication of the body make these sculptures as moving as any classical artefact worn through the passage of time. Kiss forces the viewer to address their prejudices. What is perfection? What is beauty? How do you feel about disability or illness? By making reference to ancient Greek statues, the marble figures challenge the idea that we view ‘damaged’ bodies in classical art as being beautiful, whilst rejecting imperfection in real life.
• #7: There are four plinths for statues in the square. Bronze statues stand on three of them: General Sir Charles James Napier is on the plinth in the southwest of the square, Major General Sir Henry Havelock on the southeast plinth and King George IV on the northeast plinth.
• #8: Aphrodite of Milos (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη τῆς Μήλου, Aphroditē tēs Mēlou), better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) high. Its arms and original plinth have been lost.