The Art Corner: Andrew Salgado
In his London studio, avid reader and artist Salgado talks of beauty, masculinity, and his journey.
When we think of men and beauty, one of the narratives that come to mind — predominantly Western — is that of Narcissus, a man so beautiful that he died of sorrow when he realised he could never have the love of the most beautiful man in the world: himself. Another story that comes to mind is that of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, where a man’s journey to beauty and power essentially makes him sell his soul.
When it comes to beauty and men, there is a dark shadow in Western culture; I myself have always found it strange when I was often corrected about not telling men they are beautiful, but rather handsome.
But what if we redefined masculinity through the lens of beauty? The redefinition of masculinity is a fundamental part of the feminist movement, and shifting the narrative is key. Theorists like Minna Salami have for years been exploring how we might redefine and renegotiate masculinity, you can find a beautiful description here in one of her latest essays:
“The difficulties posed in discussing beauty when it comes to men, ultimately reveals the meanings of power embedded in the term ‘masculine”, she continues. “Were conversations to centre around beautifying masculinities, it would be clear that heteronormative and patriarchal masculinities are the opposite of beautiful. This would open up a space for thinking of masculinities in ways that are less incongruous with social harmony.”
What if we redefined masculinity through the lens of beauty?
Men are taught to be strong, not beautiful, for women it is the contrary. Western philosophies tend to impose a very binary way of thinking of masculinity and femininity; automatically our minds differentiate feminine as female and masculine as male. In recent years as I’ve been exploring Eastern philosophies of masculine and feminine, I’ve learned to see them as energies that are both present in all people, regardless of gender. I am reminded of Veena Das’ phrase “there are feminine regions of the self that reside both in men and women”, the same could be said for feminine regions.
If beauty is attributed to the feminine, then perhaps exploring beauty and masculinity could be a way to bridge this binary narrative that reverberates negatively on progress. What better than art can do this?
Men are taught to be strong, not beautiful, for women it is the contrary.
When it comes to exploring beauty and masculinity, I was brought to the stunning work of Andrew Salgado. Salgado is a Canadian/London-based artist who has had dozens of exhibitions all over the world. One of the paintings of Salgado’s that personally struck me is “Narcissus Weeping”, where Salgado seems to be playing with the myth of masculine beauty par excellence by framing masculine beauty in vulnerability. The masculine figure in the painting seems to represent Salgado himself, he tells me he often portrays his multitudes in his paintings, and I interpret this colourful balance between abstract and figurative as being a search for the acceptance of vulnerability. What if Narcissus cried, not out of despair but out of acceptance of his own masculinity, how would the myth change?
“In my work, my concern has been for a long time: What does it mean to be a man?” he tells me, and we discuss the ways in which binary narratives create a gap between masculinity and femininity. There is a space that must be bridged, and one of the tools used to do this by many theorists has been to use mythology as metaphor. In a way, Salgado does the same in his paintings, where he portrays masculine figures in fantasy worlds. “I bridge this binary between more concrete, more objective viable things and more subjective things like fantasy, which are more feminine aspects, or are more deemed as kind of feminine”, he says. “So we have men, but we have them in very fantastical narratives”.
“In my work, my concern has been for a long time: What does it mean to be a man?”
When I ask him about beauty and narrative he tells me that in the Art world sometimes the word beauty is seen as a pejorative term, but that he is attempting to change this narrative through his paintings; “One of the things I say is I want to make ugly things beautiful things, and I try to reevaluate those terms.”
Another image that has been ever-present in Salgado’s latest work, and something I myself am very connected to both in my poetry and life, is the moon. Male figures seem to be playing with the everchanging entrance to the celestial world. The moon has long served as a metaphor of femininity with its representation of the rhythm of time cycles, and the phases often reflecting the phases of the menstrual cycle. It contradicts the reliance and consistency of the sun, necessary for life to grow, and connects human to spirit. Both are necessary to survive.
In mainstream narratives, it is unusual to see the male figure associated with the Moon, and this is Salgado’s brilliance; he creates a bridge between masculine and feminine through the lens of beauty.
Salgado’s work is political in a way that is poetic and pleasing. It reminds me of the way that many black feminist activists and artists, like Audre Lorde or Alice Walker, have developed a joyful way of being political. Salgado tells me that if he were to go to the studio with the intention of being political, he would be burdened down.
Looking at Salgado’s work from 2016, the evolution in the way he expressed his politicism is obvious. He tells me he had to step away from the way in which he had been political in his art. “It just became way too dark for me to focus on. And then it put me in a dark place”. Now he collaborates with various LGBTQI+ organizations and in his art he lets his creativity speak for itself.
During this conversation it was interesting to see how we also created a narrative about Salgado’s work; whilst his politicism is not his priority right now when it comes to his artistic expression, it inevitably comes down on the canvas. His bridge-building is so effortless perhaps he is not even conscious of it, and according to Salgado, he is“ looking at masculinity and femininity not through behavioural things, but solely through aesthetic things like colour, and shape. And composition and pole opposing. In compositional excess, like, flowers or vases, which are traditionally more like, quote-unquote, feminine.”
A male figure washing himself with water, the element of emotion, a male figure thinking, “I wish I was the moon”, another dancing with the sky and the stars dressed in beautiful colours, a man naked on a bed after making love (a moment of strong vulnerability). Through these images, Salgado is magnifying what is beautiful and beautifying what is conventionally not considered so. Through the textures, colours and intricate painting titles, Salgado’s voice is loud and clear.
***
Virginia Vigliar is a culture writer unpacking narratives around social justice and feminism. You can follow her on Instagram here.
The Art Corner is a monthly column where we weave narratives with artists and creatives all over the world, see who else we spoke to here.
