Contextual Studies | Tracy Vs Sarah

Tracy Emin vs Sarah Lucas

Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas were the two artists we were focusing on for this weeks contextual lesson.

I had heard about Tracy Emin before with her very controversial installation of the bed but I had not come across Sarah Lucas. In a way they were very similar artists as they use feminism and sex very vividly in their work. It is almost an underlying theme in all of their work.

Tracy Emin:

 

Pros and Cons of Tracey Emin's Practice:

Pros:

• She challenged accepted stereotypes of women
• Her sculpture have raw energy that both provoke and amuse the viewer
• She has explored and challenged sexual attitudes

Cons:

• Her artworks are very crude and can often be seen as offensive
• She doesn't explore themes that don't revolve around sex in any way
• Her work may be seen as too explicit for the younger generation

Sarah Lucas:

Pros and Cons of Sarah Lucas' Practice:

Pros:

• Her work is original
• It has challenged the perception of Art
• She has desensitised themes such as sex and drugs through her artwork.

Cons:

• Her work doesn't get taken seriously
• The themes in her work are all too similar
• People only started to respect her once she had won the Turner Prize.