Odd nerdrum paintings falling apart

J. E. Morales

3 June,

         When seriously considering the motivation behind an artist’s work, often one must dig deeply, not only to uncover the actual or possible source material of the work, but the meaning of the work itself.  Though this is especially true of abstract art, even work that is naturalistic or narrative may be concealing, intentionally or not, important keys to the understanding of that work.  This investigation can be made even more difficult if the artist has a wish not to have her work understood.  An artist who wishes to be understood, and uses her life as material for the work, might be called a self revealer.  Odd Nerdrum is such an artist, and through a detailed account of his childhood, we can find corollaries between his formative experiences and the perverse imagery of his painting.

      &n