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My drawings have often been described as organic surrealism and I suppose, since I was born under the sign of Taurus, it seems only natural that my art should have an earthy quality about it. I never know what I am going to draw when I sit down with my enormous sheet of white paper, so the results are almost always a surprise! For me, the female body is the most beautiful of God’s creations and I love to photograph it. My inspiration in creating the Fanergy series was to adorn the already beautiful form in a surprising, yet sensual way. I don’t understand the need to distort the female form in order to |
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Marian Fanny Christian
Marian Fanny Christian, Fanergy Series. Courtesy of the artist.
"We can now look at your patient paint stitches, one after the other, tying secrets to poetry and color to shape."
So wrote Benedetta Barzini in a letter to me describing how she felt on having seen my work for the very first time. It remains one of my favorite descriptions of my art.
My drawings have often been described as organic surrealism and I suppose, since I was born under the sign of Taurus, it seems only natural that my art should have an earthy quality about it. I never know what I am going to draw when I sit down with my enormous sheet of white paper, so the results are almost always a surprise!
For me, the female body is the most beautiful of God’s creations and I love to photograph it. My inspiration in creating the Fanergy series was to adorn the already beautiful form in a surprising, yet sensual way.
I don’t understand the need to distort the female form in order to surprise or disturb the viewer. On the contrary, my aim is to draw attention to women’s beauty by enhancing it. By laying my very intricate drawings over the nude photograph, giving the impression of lace or tattoos, I am creating a perfect marriage. The difficult part is knowing which drawing to pair with which photograph; not all marriages are made in Heaven! But when it works, the nude becomes the canvas for the drawing, and the results are both sexy and sensual.
I believe eroticism is in the mind. Lust alone—being the desire to satisfy a physical urge as quickly as possible—cannot be truly erotic. Sensuality is the delicious blending of both the physical and mental. For me, if it is not sensual, it is not erotic.
I feel that way not only about the visual arts, but also about the written word. One of my favorite poems, written to me by my husband, the artist Anthony Christian, gives me the feeling I wish to convey in the Fanergy series. It reads:"Your garments fall around you loose,
As still some drops of precious juice,
Do linger on my wet tongue’s tip,
Here, can you taste you on my lip?"Who would be immune to such seduction?
