|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| Like his father, Dehn was an atheist, and his treatment of religious imagery suggests an interest in shape and pattern over criticism of faith. Dehn’s imagery of nuns is comical and capricious. The subject matter has the potential to be loaded with disrespect; however, his primary focus is on the formal elements of the habits. This is evident through his transformation pieces like his untitled work in which the shapes of nuns at their easels are gradually shifted into the shapes of the cows they are painting in the distance. These works can be viewed as a precursor to the metamorphic images by M.C. Escher. There is the feeling of a little guilty pleasure in enjoyment of his treatment of such religious icons, yet in image after image, upon further examination, it becomes apparent that Dehn’s true subject matter is the shape as well as sharp contrast of the nun’s habit than the women behind the black and white apparel. He is far more interested in sharing his vision of a group of nuns that conjure up an image of a flock of Canada geese, than he is in criticizing a life of faith. Mairs’ one image in this series, Nuns Skating, has a different tone, rather than just shapes and pattern, these women are having fun! They have character and individuality expressed in flailing limbs and susceptibility to gravity. Contrast these figures to Dehn’s rendering of nuns, whose women lack any suggestion of bodies inside those great black boxes. Once again, the women in these images are objects used for composition and contrast. Mairs seems more focused on the subject of the nuns’ activity and creates a composition that is more reminiscent of the “slice of life” subjects in the gallery’s west wing. |
