Voi che sapete

Fui ver o Sweeney Todd do Tim Burton e talvez consiga perceber o fascinio que ele tenha sentido e que o levou a contar esta história. Talvez sinta o mesmo fascinio, sendo isso ainda um pouco estranho para mim, mesmo que um dos meus quadros favoritos seja tão macabro e negro. É este negro que sobrevive em Todd e que é branqueado pela excelente música... pelo excelente tudo!

Porque faz pensar, pelo aspecto formal mais do que pela acção, ir buscar justificação para esta atracção pelo horror, mesmo não sendo inédita. Sabemos que não é.

Alberto Giacometti, Woman with her Throat Cut, 1932, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh

The dark side of surrealist desire is represented in this and the following room in the centre of the exhibition space. Alberto Giacometti's sculpture Woman with her Throat Cut (1932) is a powerful image of sexual pleasure and violence, despite the abstract nature of the work. The insect-like forms of the 'woman' are inspired by the praying mantis, which is said to devour its mate after copulation. One of the arms ends in a cylindrical weight that, according to the artist, was inspired by the nightmare of not being able to lift an arm to push an attacker away.

The theme of violence and domination, mingled with fear of a devouring female, is shared by paintings by Picasso and others in this section. The Brazilian sculptor Maria and French-born Louise Bourgeois explore the theme of psycho-sexual tensions between men and women.