Desperately looking for pinups in the
undergrounds of Israel, I managed to
completely overlook Nir Hod, part of the
upper-ground art scene, in
Israel.
Nir Hod is a young,
yet established Israeli artist. His main
visual focus is in dramatic, erotic
kitsch, and his thematic focuses are
life, death and beauty. Women and
androgynous men are often represented in
his art.
I’m not a fan of Hod’s, I don’t like his
drama, nor his vain self-obsession, but I
love a beautiful image and a job well done,
and that’s something he produces in
abundance.
Soldier Obsession
Hod blasted on to
the Israli art scene, some may say,
fully formed. His obsession with himself
and sexual ambiguity was there from the
start. This may have been the mid 90's,
but the Israeli art scene was still
shocked at androgynous images. Another
taboo Hod bashed at, from the start, was
the Israeli soldier. The effeminate
soldier beefcake and the sexualized
female cadet was something the military
Israeli establishment couldn't deal with
(no matter how many gays enlisted, or
how low- us women- would get our uniform
pants altered). The bigger blow came to
the "offended" people, who had served in
the army, that realized Hod had never
enlisted and yet depicted himself in
uniform... In women's uniform, no less!
Personally, I think Hod portrays the Israeli
military bombshell perfectly
Maria, Venus and Other Gods
Hod would move an to
a more "traditional" post-modernism,
utilizing the
pastiche
to further his dual message of mass
media deception and beauty. I'm not
entirely sure of what Hod was trying to
say with these images, but they make for
quite original sexual icons. (If anyone
is in the know, please share with us, in
the comment section or
email
me.)
At this stage, Hod's beefcake would
centralize around self portraits completely.
A great example is this piece called
Narcissist:
In his later show of 2005,
Forever,
Hod would return to the soldier
depictions, this time much more poetic
and dramatic. Instead of retro kitsch,
though, he has solidified an
identifiable kitsch style of his own.
Moving Towards Femininity
In Forever, Hod
would touch upon a softer side, treating
the issue of untimely death- eternal
beauty- with a soft, glowing delicacy.
The women in his images were never more
natural and serene.
In 2007 he would continue in this thematic
line, depicting beautiful nude women, in
intimate scenes of fantasy- symbolic or very
situation specific.
Personally, I like Hod's new direction,
though I'd love to see a fusion of that with
his older, retro kitsch. What do you think?
Tags: military bombshell, Nir Hod, Post Modern Pinups, Israeli artist, Forever, retro kitsch, narcissist beefcake, sexual icons, Erotic kitsch, Women in uniform, androgynous, sexualized female cadet,
Israel Art Scene, effeminate soldier
beefcake
