Lot 10
Ilyse Soutine
Rite of Passage
2004
c-print
value $1,200-$1,400
6@ 7 x 10 1/2" A.P.
courtesy of the Artist

About the subject of her work, Ilyse Soutine says she considers “how basic human needs are addressed within society, in particular, schools, hospitals, and prisons.” Additionally, she says, “issues of identity entered my work. I began to explore the ways in which advertising and consumerism influence and define the way we perceive ourselves within our society.” In addition to exhibiting artworks across the country, she is founder and publisher of Lab 71, an online magazine focusing on “international art content.” This image is from a series of photographs that shows the artist in a full face of makeup and in constant motion. It seems as though Soutine’s face has been struck by either her own hand or someone else’s - her features contorted into semblances of rage, disgust or pain. The clown-like makeup gives the scene an even more tragic gravity.