Botero/An Artist of Immense Proportions

Botero

Botero/Columbian Artist  photo from google image

I was researching South American artists that interest me and Botero is one of those.  I can remember when I first saw prints of his fat people and thought how fascinating he chooses to do this and my next thought was why. Botero explains his use of these "large people", as they are 
often called by critics, in the following way:


"An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it"

Botero / Columbian Artist                         photo from google image

El Presidente by Botero

This spoke to me and goes back to our discussion of process versus product in our previous post. Botero is trusting his innate intuition as an artist without questioning it.  As I read more on his biography  it intrigued me even more....he spoke of staying free of the trends of modern art and called himself the most Columbian artist in the world though he lives elsewhere.  The reference was to staying free of others influences and styles.  His style has even been named it is so unique, Boterismo.   


"His works feature a figurative style, called by some "Boterismo", which gives them an unmistakable identity. Botero depicts women, men, daily life, historical events and characters, milestones of art, still-life, animals and the natural world in general, with exaggerated and disproportionate volumetry, accompanied by fine details of scathing criticism, irony, humor, and ingenuity." Source Wikapedia 

Still Life with Fruit by Botero    photo from google image

"Botero is an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense, choosing colors, shapes, and proportions based on intuitive aesthetic thinking."Source Wikapedia

Botero Sculpture for St. Petersburg Museum Exposition
photo from google image

 If I think about how I approach my art I hear some of the same themes...trusting my intuition, not questioning it, not judging it, but knowing it will guide me where I need to be. I think it will surprise some that Botero is an abstract painter in a sense when his works seem so realistic....but it is an exaggerated sense of realism as in literature we think of magical realism.  He makes powerful points about politics and human behavior in a classical style.  I find his Abu Ghraib series very captivating almost in the same way Picasso's Guernica is in relating the horrors of war and 
the worst of human behavior.

Botero/Abu Ghraib Series