Elinor Carucci The Mother That I Still Am #2, 2010, Edwynn Houk Gallery
Wishing you and yours a very happy Mother’s Day. Whether you are celebrating your mother in person or in spirit, I hope you take a moment to cherish her and the influence she’s had on making you who you are.
Ever since the early prehistoric figurines were carved, the mother figure has remained one of the most oft-recurring images in pictorial art. (See: Venus of Willendorf) She is the symbol of life and metaphor for earth, and has embodied holiness since the first depiction of Madonna enthroned was painted, sometime around 400 A.D.
Fast-forward a few thousand years and we still find images of mothers in visual art. A recent exhibition by photographer, Elinor Carucci, at Edwynn Houk Gallery showed the artist-as-mother. Carucci’s series – titled Mother – intimately capture her past decade of motherhood from pregnancy to present. While each image is close-cropped and lit beautifully and dramatically, these aren’t perfect Christmas-card family photos. We see the tantrums and runny noses alongside the lovingly tender moments she has with her twins. For, being a mother isn’t about staging the ideal image, it’s about the complete unwavering love you have for your children in those tiny and messy times.
Elinor Carucci, Love, 2009, Edwynn Houk Gallery
Elinor Carucci, Brushing Hair, 2010, Edwynn Houk Gallery
