Ecce Homo

Caitlin Karolczak

Adam, The First Man Exhibition
NHCC Joseph Gazzuolo Fine Arts Gallery
January 13-31, 2014.

Linda Dobosenski, Caitlin Karolczak, Kyrie Kotlowski, Heather Mortensen, and Jean Loy-Swanson.

Alternative perspectives to traditional forms are offered by a group of artists with diverse female views of a male world. The artists challenge the viewer to consider new perspectives of visual beauty and male role in our culture. The work is presented in a variety of media including photography, fabric, painting, drawing, and mixed media sculpture.

This exhibition follows in the footsteps of the exhibition "Masculine / Masculine, The Nude Man in Art from 1800 to Present day" at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France. A review of the exhibit states "While it has been quite natural for the female nude to be regularly exhibited, the male nude has not been accorded the same treatment." "Adam, The First Man" is an exhibition conceived with exactly this thought in mind. ~ from the exhibit catalog

It isn’t often I get a mid-week invitation to a provocative art opening. Braving the wind and snow, I set my course for the wilds of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and was rewarded with a small, yet intense show celebrating the nude male form. The rumor was that the show was instigated by women in the school's nursing program who had enough of the female nude in the school's exhibitions; turnabout was fair play. There was a good mix of work on display, nothing that would cause a riot, although some provincials might disapprove.

The most dramatic pieces were the oil paintings by Caitlin Karolczak, I’ve written about her before. This show’s thematic unity made her work appear even more powerful. We talked about the role of the male nude in art and how things are changing and how the naked male figure is still a challenge to many viewers.

Art should be challenging.