The Dreaming Life of Leonora de la Cruz

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Plate XVIII, 2002
Selena Kimball
From The Dreaming Life of Leonora de la Cruz

More disquieting collage art - this time from Selena Kimball. Her collage illustrations from The Dreaming Life of Leonora de la Cruz by Agniezka Taborska depict the surreal, sinister visions of a fictional 18th century Carmelite nun. I feel like I should make a creepy sound effect of some kind, but the collages are so lovely, it seems disrespectful. . . check out the subtle use of biological imagery throughout.

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Plate II, 2000
Selena Kimball
From The Dreaming Life of Leonora de la Cruz

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I was poking around on her site and she does have some neat work. It does bother me a bit, however, that she only obliquely mentions the originators of the style that she is appropriating. I suppose she might assume that the viewer 'gets it,' but the lack of overt mention troubles me a little. Without an awareness of pre-war art history, the viewer could easily assume that the aesthetic and technique originated with Kimball.