"I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie"
Art has always had a soft spot for the human form, but if there's one part that’s consistently found itself in the spotlight (or should we say, moonlight?), it’s the bottom. From ancient times to modern masterpieces, artists have never shied away from giving the backside its due. So, let's take a stroll through history and see how this often-overlooked feature has made its mark (sometimes quite literally) on the world of art.
Ancient Rear-angements: Bottoms as Icons
Long before Instagram made the booty a cultural obsession, ancient artists were already crafting some serious behind-the-scenes magic. The Venus figurines, plump and proud, celebrated the bottom as a symbol of fertility and abundance. Fast forward to ancient Greece, where statues like "Venus Callipyge" didn’t just leave things to the imagination—they put the derrière front and centre. Clearly, these ancient sculptors understood that when it comes to art, a well-rounded bottom is worth its weight in marble.
Renaissance: The Bottom Renaissance (or Re-bottom-sance?)
As the Renaissance dawned, artists began to study the human form with the kind of dedication usually reserved for solving Rubik’s cubes. Michelangelo and Raphael took a good, hard look at anatomy, and the bottom emerged as a key player in their masterful creations. In their hands, the posterior wasn’t just about looking good; it was about realism, proportion and showing off just how well they could chisel a pair of buns. If butts were stocks, Renaissance artists were definitely buying.
Modern Art: A Turn for the Abstract
By the time modern art rolled around, the bottom had gone through quite the evolution. Enter Picasso and Matisse, who threw the rulebook (and possibly a few mirrors) out the window. Suddenly, bottoms weren’t just anatomically correct—they were abstract, exaggerated and sometimes even a little surreal. Whether you loved or hated it, one thing was clear: the bottom was no longer just a part of the body; it was a statement.
Contemporary Art: Bottoms Up!
Today, the depiction of bottoms in art is as varied as ever. From the bold, body-positive works of Jenny Saville to the pop art of Andy Warhol, the backside has become a symbol of everything from identity to rebellion. In a world where art constantly pushes boundaries, the bottom remains a versatile (and often cheeky) subject, proving that sometimes, the most powerful statements come from the most unexpected places.
The Bottom Line
From ancient carvings to contemporary canvases, the bottom has always had a place in art’s heart—or at least in its lower half. Whether celebrated for its beauty, studied for its form, or abstracted for its meaning, the backside has been a constant muse for artists through the ages. So next time you’re wandering through a gallery, take a moment to appreciate the art behind the art. After all, it’s got quite the history behind it.
And that’s the bottom line on bottoms in art history. I see you baby, shaking that ass...
"Botero" by João de Castro, 2021
Awards: 18th Black and White Spider Awards – Honourable Mention 2023
Series: Someone, Somewhere, Somehow
Arty-Fact: “Sometimes I have fully formed ideas in the night and I write them down. Or I have something that sits in the back of my mind for a while. But the magic happens in the studio with the model. I stretch to wherever they want to go. A lot of models I work with tell me how they’ve been able to work through things affecting their life by us working together.” - João de Castro
"Chanel Belt" by Jamie Nelson, 2019
Series: Chanel
Arty-Fact: In this series, Jamie created a collection of Chanel images which questions a cultural obsession with excessive branding. Jamie collaborated with artist Dylan Egon to create custom faux Chanel pieces. In contrast, Anna Katsanis styled the series using authentic Chanel, inviting the viewer to guess what is real and what is faux. The images illustrate how a simple logo cultivated over time can hypnotise society.
Jamie parodies the absurdities of brand obsession and logo consumption, from a microscopic Chanel eye-booger, to a fully Chanel tattooed face—even a Chanel handgun. Jamie questions how far we take our logo-laden identities—spending exorbitant money on anything and everything adorned with a fashion symbol.
Anyway, what if, in the end it was all a farce and proven to be faux all along?
Series: Exposed and Uncensored
Arty-Fact: Nude art photography has long been a source of intrigue and inspiration for many. Its origins are believed to date back to the early 19th century when photographers took pictures of nude models in more than scientific settings. Over the years, this type of art has evolved into an increasingly sophisticated and varied form.
Nude photography captures moments of beauty, intimacy, vulnerability and drama in ways beyond any other artistic medium. It captivates viewers with its raw beauty and power.
Enter celebrity and fashion photographer Markus Klinko. Markus' body of work extends beyond the fashion world and includes projects focused on nude photography. His works are characterised by bold colours, unique angles and creative lighting to capture various moods and emotions. His photographs provide an intimate look into the beauty of the human body, redefining traditional boundaries in the art world.
From a burlesque dancer to an adult film star, Markus has captured celebrities and models at their most powerful - exposed and uncensored.
Series: 36
Arty-Fact: In winter of 2018 through spring of 2019, Formento & Formento returned to Japan but focused on channeling the artist Hokusai and asked what Mt. Fuji meant to them.
They consider Japan their spirit place and are always yearning to come back and go deeper in exploring the culture and the landscape.
This body of work moved the duo out of the city of Tokyo and into the countryside. They wanted to live under the ever-changing appearance of Mt. Fuji and experience its burning energy. The series sought to portray an ambiguous narrative using female models to play out an imagined life under the strength of the mountain and beyond the edge of the frame.
Arty-Fact: Florian has firmly established himself as an art photographer who looks well beyond the notion of photography as mere documentation – as crucial as said documentation is. Instead, he is determined to create works embodying the spirit of a moment that a photograph can capture. Or, to put it in his own words: “It’s about creating an emotion, a feeling, a memory”.
Arty-Fact: A primary focus is the female form, in particular, iconic and Pop Art renditions, from the geisha to anime manga. Exploring figurative elements, HUSH confronts and examines the power, innocence, beauty and cunning of feminine sexuality.
"Venus" by Jim Hunolt, circa 2000 - 2007
Arty-Fact: Jim deals with one subject: Mankind - alone and together, Warriors and Lovers. As he notes in his Occasional Journals, "Warriors (i.e., individuals under stress: mental, physical or spiritual), and Lovers (two individuals together in a sensually shared consciousness) have one main thing in common... intensity. Possibly it is the intensity I am most interested in. And that I can discover a great abundance of intensity in Warriors and Lovers, which draws me to them."
Source: "Jim Hunolt: Sculpture" by Jim Hunolt and Gary Koeppel, Published by Coast Publishing, Carmel, CA, 2006
Arty-Fact: Sarah has extensively researched Salford’s radical social history where street protests, the suffragette movement and political activists have all played their part in shaping the community. These images are core to her collage and silkscreen work where Sarah questions the 60’s zeal of building public housing with ‘convenient’ appliances that, “effectively ripped the heart out of the community.”
The central theme of Sarah's work is her “personal questioning of the roles of women within this new futuristic world of the home.” Her bold imagery of phallic Salford skylines is contrasted with sensual women’s bodies of the 60’s, also notably highlighting the nostalgia of a woman’s body before mass spray tanning, primping and posing became the norm.
Until the next one, remember to "Shake, shake, shake...shake you booty."
Blair & Ele xoxo