Beautiful/Decay Artist & Design » Ria Brodell http://beautifuldecay.com Beautiful/Decay | Artist Book Series + Daily Art & Design Blog Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:30:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Ria Brodell http://beautifuldecay.com/2010/01/14/ria-brodell/ http://beautifuldecay.com/2010/01/14/ria-brodell/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:23:12 +0000 Sasha http://beautifuldecay.com/?p=15803 Read the Rest...]]> RiaBrodell9

Self-Portrait as Freddie Mercury, circa 1985

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Self Portrait as Miami Vice Dude

Artist Ria Brodell aspired to don Freddy Mercury’s tight white jeans and signature ‘stache, and the Miami Vice Dude’s cool calypso-linen pantsuit rather than play princess or tea party. What I love most about her achingly sincere self-portraits posing as dubious icons of masculinity is the tangled web of complications it weaves. What does it mean for a queer woman to paint herself in goache as Carey Grant, a gay man playing a straight man in sexuality-restricted 1950′s Hollywood? Hmm….what do you guys think? Any of you boys rather play with Barbie than GI Joe’s?

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St. Anthony Finds G.I. Joe's Gun

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He-Man and St. Michael Find They Have a Lot in Common

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Self-Portrait as Gene Kelly

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Self-Portrait as Curly ("Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!")

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There is Nothin' Like a Dame

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A Picnic with Audrey Hepburn

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Three Way Crush

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