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It’s that time of the year again – the mother of all days, Mother’s Day. A sacred time when advertising companies bombard our social media feeds to remind us to honour our maters, and fatten their wallets, by gifting her their product line. A yearly tradition invented by the executives at card companies to encourage us to buy a year’s worth of goodwill from our mums in exchange of a day’s worth of extravagant gestures.
To exploit this occasion further, we interrogated some Art Fervour minions to cough up their favourite maternal artistic renditions across mediums. Under duress, they complied. And we uncovered a Harry Potter conspiracy and unhealthy obsession with the Kardashians among our midst.
Chief Executive Mischief Maker and In-House Guillotine Operator
What’s an art work with a mother theme/vibe to it that has emotional value to you?
The Little Ladies Museum, that is a part of Dayanita Singh’s book object Museum Bhavan, is formed of portraits of the artist, taken by her mother Noni Singh, marking key moments in her daughter’s life.
What beauty do you find in this work?
In the folds of the Little Ladies Museum, you will see girls in frilly white frocks, school uniforms and in saris made for smaller frames. Some of these ‘little ladies’ are accompanied by the older ladies who shape their lives, while others are seemingly older, on the brink of adulthood themselves.
Tell us your favourite mother-child relationship depictions from the following categories?
a) Art world – Kara Walker and her daughter
b) Book – Betty and Mahtob in Not Without My Daughter
c) Film or TV – Gilmore Girls
d) Real world – Michelle Obama and her daughters
What do you and your mom best like doing together?
Watching movies and Netflix and daily bickering
Resident Ninja and Man Friday
What’s an art work with a mother theme/vibe to it that has emotional value to you?
‘Maman’, by Louise Bourgeois
What beauty do you find in this work?
Maman translates to mother. This work depicts an arachnid carrying its offspring showing that, no matter what species, a mother struggles and toils to give her children the best life possible. To me, that sacrifice and unconditional love is what motherhood is all about.
Tell us your favourite mother-child relationship depictions from the following categories?
a) Art world – Louise Bourgeois and her sculptures which she treated as her child. “I will never tire of representing her,” she says.
b) Book – Mrs. Weasley’s relationship with her children, Harry and Hermione from Harry Potter.
c) Film or TV – Gloria Delgado-Pritchett and Manny Delgado from Modern Family
d) Real world – Kim Kardashian and North West
What do you and your mom best like doing together?
Arguing and shopping.
Knowledge Scourer and Departing Butterfly
What’s an art work with a mother theme/vibe to it that has emotional value to you?
Coral Ridge Towers (1969) by Marilyn Minter – Mom Smoking and Mom Making Up.
A 2 photo-series by Marilyn Minter with her mother photographed smoking in the first and applying make-up in the second.
What beauty do you find in this work?
I like the simplicity of the photographs quite a bit. And there is a hint of darkness to the pictures as opposed to the regular portrayals of mother-child relationships.
Tell us your favourite mother-child relationship depictions from the following categories?
a) Art world – La Toya Ruby Frasier’s work related to the two generations of women in her family (mother and grandmother) and linking that to the sociological and economic factors that shaped her life.
b) Book – Lily Potter’s sacrifice for Harry which helped him vanquish Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. Catelyn Stark coming back for revenge as Lady Stoneheart in the Song of Ice and Fire by Gorge R. R. Martin.
c) Film or TV – Cersei Lannister’s (Lena Headey) as a mother in the TV adaptation of Game Of Thrones. Jenna Hamilton and her mother in Awkward.
d) Real world – Kris Jenner and the Kardashian kids – how she helped establish the Kardashian brand and make her children rich and famous.
What do you and your mom best like doing together?
Shopping and eating.
Digital Media Maverick and Undercover Alien
What’s an art work with a mother theme/vibe to it that has emotional value to you?
‘Cowboys & Indians: Mother & Child,’ by Andy Warhol
What beauty do you find in this work?
It evokes feelings of nurture and care. A mother’s pure and unconditional love for her child.
Tell us your favourite mother-child relationship depictions from the following categories?
a) Art world – The two portraits Rembrandt made of his mother after her death.
b) Book – Lily and Harry Potter.
c) Film or TV – Kitty and Red’s relationship with Eric Foreman in That 70’s Show.
d) Real world – Angeline Jolie and her brood.
What do you and your mom best like doing together?
My mother and I are very similar when it comes to our idea of chilling. We cook new dishes together, play board games & watch movies. We enjoy it all.
