I would first like to start off by explaining why I decided to choose Sue Coe as my artist to research. When I first saw her work I was immediately drawn to it. It captivated my interest because it has such interesting vibes to it. It’s somewhat scary or disturbing when you first look at it, which gives her pieces a lot of emotion. I personally find scary images fascinating because they give you that adrenaline rush, similar to watching a horror movie or riding a roller coaster. In addition to this what made me like her work even more was the subtle, or sometimes not so subtle messages it has. A lot of her pieces give statements about social issues, something I feel strongly about.
Sue Coe was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire in 1951. She studied at the Royal College of Art in London. She lived a large portion of her life in New York from 1972 to 2001. She grew up near a slaughterhouse which is what influenced her to fight to end cruelty against animals. This showed through her work, however this was not the only issue she expressed through her art. Her work touched on many political issues such as sweat shops, prisons, aids, and war. Coe worked primarily with pencil, woodcut, and litho. She once said that she likes to draw like its painting and cut wood like it is drawing. She views her work as a form of activism because to her, art and activism are the same in a way.
The way that Coe uses the marks she makes is what gives her art such life. Much of her work displays images of things that are very contrasting which causes your eye to be caught. In result this creates sharp lines that also add to the work. These lines give her pieces a very shocking and dark feel. When you look at the work you can’t help but feel disturbed, but in a good way. She also uses a lot of black and white in her art. Some of her work has color, but it is usually just a dark red and very bleak colors like beige and grey. The lack of color again adds to the dark tone of her art. There is no happiness in it. I believe the color red is often used to symbolize blood, which would reflect the cruelty and killing of the animals. She chooses to give her art a sad and scary tone in order to convey the message she is trying to get across to the viewer. We must pay attention to the cruelty against animals and also pay attention to the harsh reality of the problems in the world. This is what she wants us to see, think, and feel when viewing her art.
Bibliography: Websites used
Widewalls: https://www.widewalls.ch/artists/sue-coe
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Coe