This installation has attracted much of the public's attention and it is highly controversial. It seems to challenge the public's perception of art, as in this is a whole new medium which the art are conveyed to Singaporean. Some newspapers had gone to town with the artist's act, questioning whether it could be considered art. A lawyer was quoted as saying the show could be against the law as it is an offense to appear nude in public. The art fair, which opened to the public, is considered a public event.
To begin with, why would T. Venkanna would like to pose in front of the artwork, The Two Fridas in nudity? To answer this, we must first understand the context of the artwork.
There are two different characters as portrayed in her work. The traditional Frida (left), with an intention to hide the bruise of her past life experiences, wears a tattered and blood-stained Mexican dress with her broken heart seen. This may indicate a person’s response when she is trapped in a life designated according to her status of living. The traditional Frida is the reflection of a person held out by the life she was expected to live. As soon as she realized the need to adjust, she reinvents herself in a more positive way, unearthing in her the strong Frida at the right side.
Just like tabula rasa, one empty-minded person acquires knowledge from experience and perception in life. Frida’s response to the circumstances of failure lead to the ongoing strength of her evolved character, the right Frida – the epitome of strong will and determination in spite of hindrances which came along the way. She is the embodiment of the person who wisely decides for herself whom she wants to be, and not live accordingly with the influx of society’s culture and traditions. The artery connecting both Fridas and the holding of hands may signify the connection between the socially relying human and the independent fighting one – a strategy used by Kahlo to escape from reality and heal internally. Traditional Frida’s exposed, shattered heart may represent her longing – the bleeding love, which is still shared by both Fridas through the linking artery. The surgical scissors/pincers stop the blood from dripping out, which may indicate that she still knows her passions. The stain of blood in her white dress may convey the physical aspects of pain, reminding her of the unwanted incident of miscarriages, of abortions, of surgeries, of her life. The small pendant, displaying a miniature picture of Diego, is connected to her by a cord.
Thus, we could see that The Two Fridas is less about a fantay than an exploration of artist’s own personal reality; it is a quest for self-identity. This somehow corroborate with T.Venkanna’s artistic intention of "removing the trappings of identity” and thus discover the self-identity.
I think one of the reasons T.Venkanna would like to pose in front of The Two Fridas naked is because he wants the people to throw away the perception and stereotype the society has on them and discovers their true inner self. It is also possible that through his nudity, T.Venkanna is trying to convey the message that stripped off all the misinterpretations, one is only left with the pure essential part of human which has been buried and hidden all the way inside the human body.
Also, he appears in nude might also suggest that the clothes represent the different identity we have in society, as we are often been classified according to what we wear. We have our uniform and working clothes which suggest our occupations, our statues. Thus, nudity allows us to remove all the social identities and return to the state when we just born. And eventually, people will realize that we are all essentially the same.
Another reason is because T.Venkanna would like to be like Kahlor, who has the strong will and determination in spite of all the difficulties, and someone who would have the power to decide for herself whom she wants to be, and “not live accordingly with the influx of society’s culture and traditions.” In this context, as T.Venkanna challenges the traditional perception of art, he is determine to present who he is, his art and not been influence by the social norms.
So, since there is an artistic intention behind T. Venkanna's act, the artist has instils the life and meanings into his installation and making it his art, then why does this art work create so much controversial? When have seen different degree of nudity exist in paintings and sculptures for decades, yet why is it that majority of people are unable to accept a bare human body as a work of art when it is in the environment of an art gallery?
The reason for this might be because when an artist chooses to place his own body in an art gallery, he is challenging the society what constitute art. Formerly, the Dadaists challenged the preconceptions about art in choosing ready-mades to be their definition of art. And now, instead of choose ready-made materials, but choose human body as a platform expressing art, can it still be considered art?
Also, the work also comes with a price tag as every photo taken with the artist was charged $250.
This thus cause people to question the original intentions of the artist. For me, I could not understand why would any people willing to spend $250 to take a photo with Venkanna in his birthday suit against the background of The Two Fridas. Thought the photos help to record the performance, but this does not corroborate with T.Venkanna’s artistic intention. If he sees his body as part of a artwork, I don’t see why he wants the viewers to pay to take a photo with an “artwork”.
Although T.Venkanna has generates interest and question the accepted societal norms and public expectations of art, however I do questioned whether his artistic purpose has been fulfilled, as hen most viewers do not understand his work. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, he exhibits in a public setting, it means that people of all ages could come across with the work can cause unnecessary disturbance to the viewers. Also, he should have take note that Singapore is quite a conservative society, as compared most of the western countries. Thus, most of the viewers might have seen such artworks/performance before would find it rather unaccepted and thus create such a big commotion. Hence, the artist could have considered having exhibition in a more open country such as France then he might have succeeded.
In conclusion, I think that if the artist would like to freely expressed his artistic intention in a more bizarre way, he should consider the social context and level of acceptance of the people in order to meet his expected outcome of the work.
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