Priapus Agonistes
2013 - Film & Video (Film & Video)
15:09 minutes
Mary Reid Kelley
Priapus Agonistes by Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley is the first work in The Minotaur Trilogy (2013-2015), a trio of videos that reimagine the Greek myth of the Minotaur. The monstrous result of Queen Pasiphae’s infatuation with a bull, the Minotaur lived in a huge maze known as the Labyrinth where he would devour sacrificial offerings of youths and maidens. Traditionally, the story centers on Theseus and his heroic (and successful) quest to conquer the Minotaur, subsequently freeing the people of Athens from their obligations. However, in Reid Kelley’s retelling she focuses on the female characters in the story: Queen Pasiphae, her daughters Ariadne and the Minotaur (who in this tale is recast as half-woman, half-bull), and Venus the goddess of love who plays Poseidon’s role as an offended deity who wanted the beautiful bull for herself. In this interpretation the Minotaur is a creature to be pitied, not a vicious monster but instead a deluded, isolated figure facing desperate loneliness. Reid Kelley’s comedic story highlights the absurd and tragic dimensions of this tale. The exquisite sets and complex wordplay fuse contemporary references (Pasiphae resembles a young Iggy Azalea, Venus moonlights as an AVON lady) with classical, Victorian, and mythological records. The result is a mesmerizing video that uncannily reveals the stubborn endurance of sexual taboos and gender inequity throughout history.
Drawing from literature, plays, and historical events, Mary Reid Kelley makes rambunctious videos that explore the condition of women throughout history. They sardonically critique the view that recent social progress has resolved the unequal standing of women in society. Her work often involves intensive research and critical re-assessments of archetypal historical narratives—scholarship delivered as highly structured poetic verse, which serves as dialogue filled with contemporary cultural references. Her characters leap promiscuously through history and mythology, emphasizing moments of flux in gender roles and social structures. Working with videographer Patrick Kelley, Reid Kelley’s characters are usually all performed by her, disguised in elaborate costuming and makeup. They traverse animated and live-action landscapes created from the artist’s drawings and paintings. Initially trained as a painter, Reid Kelley’s stylized black-and-white visuals recall the crude aesthetics of early animation and the lo-tech look of amateur film. Teamed with her lexically complex scripts rife with historical references and wordplay, Reid Kelley’s works gesture to the instability of language and its role in history.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » KADIST
Martin Creed
2003This photograph of Martin Creed himself was used as the invitation card for a fundraising auction of works on paper at Christie’s South Kensington in support of Camden Arts Centre’s first year in a refurbished building in 2005...
© » KADIST
Du Zhenjun
2010The Tower of Babel is an installation of large-format photographs that forces the audience to occupy a central position through its monumental scale...
© » KADIST
Teppei Kaneuji
2014In his White Discharge series (2002 to today), arguably his best known works, Kaneuji assembles old toys and plastic scarps into dramatic mounded heaps and covers the surface with white plastic resin, drawing on allusions to landfills, commodity fetishism, and creative repurposing...
© » LE MONDE
Sarah Brahim remonte ses souvenirs dans un maelström de gestes et de sons Cet article vous est offert Pour lire gratuitement cet article réservé aux abonnés, connectez-vous Se connecter Vous n'êtes pas inscrit sur Le Monde ? Inscrivez-vous gratuitement Article réservé aux abonnés Vue d’ensemble de « Sometimes We Are Eternal », exposition de Sarah Brahim, à Lugano (Suisse), en octobre 2023...
© » MODERN MET ART
Artist Transforms Bicycle Chains Into Human Figures With Tethers Home / Art / Sculpture Artist Transforms Bicycle Chains Into Faceless Human Figures Tethered to the Modern World By Margherita Cole on December 7, 2023 Rather than carve sculptures from one material, Young-Deok Seo assembles his art from numerous, even hundreds, of individual pieces...
© » ANOTHER
The Story Behind Iconic 90s Images of Cameron Diaz, Heath Ledger and More | AnOther As his new exhibition opens in Milan, Michel Haddi tells us the story behind some of his most famous images of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Janet Jackson and more December 11, 2023 Text Gary Grimes Michel Haddi , the legendary French-Algerian fashion photographer, is a big believer in the importance of first impressions...
© » KADIST
Elina Brotherus
A subject’s back stands before a landscape of mountains, arid and majestic, Der Wanderer 3 revisits the theme of man versus nature dear to Romantic painting and the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich in particular...
© » KADIST
Sabelo Mlangeni
2019The Royal House of Allure is a name of a safe house on mainland Lagos where members of the queer community in need of boarding, due to various circumstances, live together...
© » FAD MAGAZINE
Anna Uddenberg first ever film to premiere in the United States to audiences online this December - FAD Magazine Skip to content By Mark Westall • 29 November 2023 Share — Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum has announced the debut of Useless Sacrifice , a short film created by renowned international Berlin-based Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: Between East and West, Heaven and Earth | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles Liu Chen-hsiang April 8, 2019 By Stephanie Burridge (800 words, four-minute read) Sustainability, remaining fresh and engaging is challenging in the present day, content-saturated global world...