In Depth: The Temptation of the Penitent Medusa by Carrie Ann Baade

Carrie Ann Baade, The Temptation of the
Penitent Medusa, 2010, oil on panel,
12" X 18"

If ever there was a painting dedicated to examining the role of women in art, this is it.

Carrie Ann Baade's  The Temptation of the Penitent Medusa is not only a technical tour de force (the surface of the painting is incredibly smooth), but a multi-layered allegory that is likely to send one's head spinning so fast that it will...leave your head spinning. Medusa, famous for turning men into stone with a glance, paints the virgin Mary while demons and chimeras climb over her and a tear slides down her cheek.  The demons, the title tells us, are tempting Medusa, pulling at her hair as if to make her look at something. She, however,  looks steadfastly into the distance and doesn't even see her painting. She does not look out at the viewer but, instead, seems to resign herself (although unhappily) to be the object of observation instead of an observer herself.

The implied narrative that Baade has given us is one of reluctant reform, subversion of the self, and the persistent objectification of women in the arts. Greek mythology tells us that Perseus decapitated Medusa as punishment for her wicked ways and then placed her head on his shield. The latter precaution allowed Perseus to turn his foes into stone (strange, isn't it, that Perseus shouldn't be punished for turning his fellow men into stone). Baade has presented us with an alternate punishment for our snaky-tressed friend. Instead of spending her time changing live men into stone sculptures, she acts out her penitence by painting the image of the most pious woman in the history of  the Western world, the virgin Mary. The studio Baade gives to her Medusa is empty and rendered in blues so cold that I can't help but wonder if the tear on Medusa's cheek is frozen there. It seem that, in Baade's opinion, Medusa may have been better off dead. Instead of exercising her super-human abilities, she paints a formulaic depiction of Mary and the baby Jesus while staring sadly into space.

Medusa has not only abandoned turning men into objects, however, but has become an object herself. The direction of her gaze, and her determination not to look at anyone, prevents her from interacting with the viewer. Her profile, however, is meticulously rendered and available to be observed by even the most casual passerby. It is almost as if the viewer has adopted Medusa's powers for, though we can continue with our lives after seeing this painting, Medusa will forever be frozen in the act of depicting a woman who is not only her polar opposite but also, according to mainstream society, an ideal to which she may  not wish to aspire.

One really can't help but hope that one of those demons will succeed in turning her head.

As long as that same "one" is far away when it happens.

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*The Temptation of the Penitent Medusa is a part of the DCCA's "In Canon," an exhibit that will run until January 2, 2011.

*"In Depth" is a series of posts dedicated to taking a closer look at (and maybe completely misinterpreting) individual paintings exhibited by the DCCA. If you would like to nominate a painting at the DCCA for an "In Depth" feature, feel free to write a comment and let me know!