Introduction
The Birth of Eve is a piece of art created by Judith Schaechter. The author made her work of glass and specific paints that remain bright on a smooth surface for an extended period. This work became an object of criticism and multiple controversies among the American audience. The Birth of Eve artwork has an unusual style and exposition that attract people the most in this creation, which will be contextually analyzed and described below.
The Author of the Work
The Birth of Eve was created by Judith Schaechter. This artist lives in Philadelphia, and she might be considered a famous person among particular circles of individuals interested in the style of art that the creator presents. Schaechter is known for her talent for working with stained glass. There were no other contributors to the discussed work as the entire presentation, and the general idea of the episode depicted in the picture belongs to Judith Schaechter. It would be proper to mention that the author is a professional artist as she graduated Rhode Island School of Design and remains an authoritative person in the community interested in such art embranchment.1 It is essential to state that Judith Schaechter’s works demonstrate her atheistic worldview as the faces and antitypes of various characters from the Bible and some other religions are usually distorted in her pictures.
The social status of the artist that created The Birth of Eve is unknown. However, Judith Schaechter is a famous author as she sells her works at high prices. Therefore, it is evident that the craftsperson does not have any needs and communicates with other people who support her activities. It would be proper to mention that Judith Schaechter is a respectable person in the culture and society of individuals interested in specific styles of modern art.
As the artist is well-known, there is much information available in different sources about the person’s life, artworks, and ideas. Judith Schaechter was working in different educational institutions that specialized in art.2 Nowadays, the author of The Birth of Eve occupies the position of an Adjunct Professor at The University of Arts (crafts department), which is situated in the city of Philadelphia. Also, she works as an Adjunct Faculty at the New York Academy of Art. In the previous century, the artist worked with musicians and had a chance to design one of Andy Prieboy’s albums that were released in 1991.
Some pieces of art created by Judith Schaechter were exhibited in the building of Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. Moreover, her works were presented to the audience in the Museum of Arts and Design that is located in New York City. Also, the owners or managers of many other art facilities all over the world invited the artist to come and share her experience of working with stained glass with the local audience. It would be proper to mention that the majority of Judith Schaechter’s admirers are American residents. Perhaps, the author has some influence on the country’s culture as she has won more than ten awards during her professional career.
The author discussed above has many other works performed with the use of the same technique. For instance, Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, Specimens, Body Bag, Hemophilia, and other creations. It would be proper to mention that the majority of ordinary people (that do not have any relations to professional art) consider the works and pictures of Judith Schaechter immoral and abominable. The characters of her works usually have somebody defects and other issues that influence the audience’s emotions.
Judith Schaechter’s main idea is to depict some objects that people are unlikely to meet in their lives and show various diseases and physical problems that might happen to a person.3 Also, a lot of her works contain some episodes from the Bible and other religious scriptures. As the author is atheistic, she wants to demonstrate all her feelings with the help of such creations.
In 2013, Judith Schaechter released a work of art named The Birth of Eve. This piece is an intricate combination of flash glass vitreous paint, silver stain, and copper foil. According to the artist, she is permanently inspired by the medium itself: glass is a highly challenging and time-consuming material to work with, and each advance in this domain opens new avenues for other artists. By the present moment, glass art has achieved a lot in developing numerous techniques of producing art objects, including fusing, flame-working, kiln-casting, blowing, cold-working, hot-working, engraving, cutting, etc. Yet, Schaechter believes that there is still a lot of space for exploration and continues moving the art forward by applying well-known methods in an entirely different way. The cultural context was highly favorable for this work as glass art was on the peak of its popularity due to newly appeared techniques, such as knitted glass and felted glass.
Judith Schaechter explains that her work is mostly spontaneous: this piece started with just a drawing of a girl in an awkward position as if she was falling from the sky. She then decided to use that girl as a symbol of Eve, and later on, worked on the glass cutting for the garden. Thus, the paper at hand will attempt to prove that the artist’s success in portraying the whole biological life cycle from birth to decay has been achieved not only due to the originality of the texture but also through the effective use of color and composition.
History and Culture
The exact date of The Birth of Eve creation by Judith Schaechter is not known. The only date that the audience knows is the year of the work’s release (2013). It would be proper to mention that the accurate date is not discussed by people who are interested in art, as the discussed work does not present any cultural or ethical values.
The Birth of Eve was made in the cultural era of knowledge and new technologies. It is essential to stress that the style of this piece of art combines both ancient and modern drawing techniques.4 Although the picture is made of many pieces of stained glass, it is still possible to compare it to other pictures created with the use of oil and other materials popular among professional artists.
The style of the discussed artwork is specific and original, which makes it difficult to compare it with other creations of the modern period. The main difference between The Birth of Eve and other pictures created at the same period is the number of radical views and decisions used during the process of the work’s creation. Many artists work for their audiences and want people to have interest in their works. Therefore, professionals prefer to use particular methods and drawings that differ from that of their colleagues. However, some of them depict various scenes that attract people only by their originality, whereas such factors as aesthetics, the quality of works, and their premises are disregarded. Therefore, such works do not have any intrigue, which makes people observe the creation for hours.
The style of The Birth of Eve can be compared with other works by Judith Schaechter that were released before and after it. For instance, the piece of art under the name of Lockdown depicts another person with unusual skin color and different body defects. It is possible to see specific qualities in the works of Judith Schaechter created since 2013. For instance, the artist started including more flowers and birds in her compositions as such objects positively influence the audience’s mood. However, her tendency of depicting human beings with visible issues is presented almost in every piece of art.5 One of the bright examples of such a style can be observed in the work called Anchoress. As The Birth of Eve glass composition is created in 2013, there are no visible defects on the surface of the picture. Nothing significant has happened to this piece of art regarding its physical condition or status over time.
Patronage or Purpose
The Birth of Eve artwork was made for sale. The majority of works by Judith Schaechter are created without any rush because it influences the quality of pictures. It is essential to remain calm and not to think about deadlines when creating a piece of art because such factors as the lack of time and possible financial rewards might have an adverse impact on the general composition and presentation of the picture’s design.
It would be proper to mention that there was no particular reason for Judith Schaechter’s The Birth of Eve creation. As the author makes her pictures constantly to sell them and demonstrate at various exhibitions in the future, the artwork was not ordered or commissioned by the artist’s clients. Unfortunately, there is no information available about the person who purchased or paid for The Birth of Eve. Such a factor is sometimes essential to know as it is easier to understand the person’s and author’s motives for creating this piece of art.
As the artwork discussed above is modern, it can be seen at various exhibits of Judith Schaechter.6 The author has her official website and accounts in many social media resources. All of her creations can be observed via the Internet. Usually, people who are interested in modern art or the works of particular styles could have seen The Birth of Eve in art museums or websites.
The work mentioned above is overwhelmed with religious symbolism, which might be considered unacceptable by Christians. The antitype of the Bible’s character (the first woman on Earth) is humiliated on this picture. Moreover, it does not depict any Biblical events.
Conclusion
The Birth of Eve is the artwork created by Judith Schaechter in 2013. The author of the picture has a degree in design and arts, which makes her a professional artist. The piece of art demonstrates many defects and unhealthy appearance of Eve that is falling down. As the picture is modern, its technique is unusual because such a presentation attracts the views of the audience.
Bibliography
Bitts-Jackson, MaryAlice. “Through the Looking Glass.” Dickinson College.
Butler, Sharon. “Colleagues: Judith Schaechter and Eileen Neff.” Two Coats of Paint.
“Judith Schaechter.” Mezzo Cammin 9, no. 1 (2017): 1.
Murphy, Mary. “Dark Matter — Judith Schaechter at Claire Oliver Gallery.” Artblog (web log).
Park, Regina. “Craft Exhibit at Renwick Gallery Highlights Interconnectivity.” The GW Hatchet.
Stipanov, Kristen. “This Stained Glass Window, New to the American Art Museum, Is Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen Before.” Smithsonian.
Footnotes
- MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson, “Through the Looking Glass,” Dickinson College, Web.
- Sharon Butler, “Colleagues: Judith Schaechter and Eileen Neff,” Two Coats of Paint, Web.
- “Judith Schaechter,” Mezzo Cammin 9, no. 1 (2017): 1.
- Mary Murphy, “Dark Matter — Judith Schaechter at Claire Oliver Gallery,” Artblog (web log), Web.
- Regina Park, “Craft Exhibit at Renwick Gallery Highlights Interconnectivity,” The GW Hatchet, Web.
- Kristen Stipanov, “This Stained Glass Window, New to the American Art Museum, Is Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen Before,” Smithsonian, Web.