1

Aristotle’s Handbag: Leonardo da Vinci

to Bailey Doogan
presents
The Titillating Tryptic to Tease the
Artistic Appetite
Jacob Marczak

Prof. Patrick Baliani

HNRS 210

Art and Anatomy, Spring 2021

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Table of Contents

An Atypical Aristotelian Analysis of the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci ........................... 3

Picabia vs. Magritte: Contrasting Cubism and Surrealism through Popperian Aesthetics as Defined
by Tomas Kulka ................................................................................................................................. 11

An Antidote to Aging? An Essay on Bailey Doogan’s Art ............................................................... 19

A Chat About Medicine ..................................................................................................................... 27

A Misinterpreted One Point Perspective............................................................................................ 29

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An Atypical Aristotelian Analysis of the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci

For a young boy from Macedonia brought up in the scent of medicine, there is a savory

list of accounts to recall the childhood of Aristotle. Some ancient gossip will hint that Aristotle

was but a child who would metaphorically drain his mother and kick her when she was dry.

However, other accounts detail that Aristotle was a learned pupil and excellent reader,

accumulating a library of scrolls (something that was rarely done in 300 BC). Orphaned by 13,

Aristotle enjoyed taming untamable horses, drinking Macedonian wine, and intense debate with

anyone foolish enough to take him up for a gab. This boy would go on to create the library

system, coin terms such as “energy”, “mean” and, “metaphysics”, and do for philosophy what

Hippocrates did for medicine (Durant). His work under Plato would allow one of the most

incredible thinkers and philosophers to emerge into the world, even to influence the world views

of the generations ahead of him, such as the great Leonardo da Vinci.

How did 4th century BC Aristotelian thinking influence this incredible polymath during

the Renaissance? First, it is important to understand more about the work of Aristotle to

understand how one can see it in da Vinci. Aristotle was a man considered to be so renowned

and virtuous in his mannerisms, he was beyond articulate and educated. Unlike his dramatic

mentor, Plato, Aristotle was more interested in science than rhetoric. Aristotle essentially

invented the well-rounded man around the idea of the golden mean. For the first time, it was

revealed that there could be too much of a good thing. For example, the golden mean between

cowardice and recklessness is courage ("Aristotle’s Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy)"). This allowed Aristotle to act virtuously. He knew what to say at the right time,

how to enjoy without being extravagant, how to share without being deleterious, and how to be
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brave without being dangerous. These are the posits of an ideal man. Though strict in his

ideology of the world, it is his cultivated worldly and scholastic nature that made so many fond

enough to sponsor (for the first time in history) his works of science with state money. Aristotle

was aiming for something far higher than himself. None other than Leonardo da Vinci expressed

these virtues in a unique and challenging way. His many works can be considered some of the

finest produced by any painter; however, he only dabbled in painting. Da Vinci was

unequivocally influenced by Aristotle and his precepts, becoming a member of the list of

excellent thinkers (after Aristotle of course) for his unique work in many different domains of

inquiry and discovery.

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Leonardo da Vinci wears many hats, though he can be best characterized as a moral

exemplar. He appears a predictable Aristotelian, simply through his virtue alone. Scholastic

dedication, perseverance, and an idea that with 5 senses one could obtain truth and knowledge in

the world. His painting style during the renaissance was unlike his contemporaries of the time,

many of which employed the popular Sienese school. The Battle of Anghiari as seen above is not

the original work Leonardo himself made in 1505, rather a replication of fresco by Peter Paul

Ruben some 100 years after. Leonardo was not only a polymath but the epitome of

eudaimonism. Loosely translated to happiness, the Greeks uphold eudaimonia as a philosophy

("Eudaimonia | Definition & Facts"). The fulfillment of meaningful work, the spirit of inquiry

that keeps one laboring pro bono in pursuit of truth; could meaning be found in responsibility

and bliss in exhaustion? This is that feeling, the strong drive to begin good work. However, to

begin on work without an insight into the final piece would be foolish, and it too is foolish to

tunnel towards an objective and lose sight of the freedom of creativity. The late King Francis I of

France bestowed a royal hall to Leonardo during his later years and served him as an advisor and

friend till his death. “There had never been another man born in the world who knew as much as

Leonardo”, the late king was rumored to proclaim in a regal chat (Lucertini et al.).

The excess of drawing and fabrication that preceded any of his final painted work is

unsurprising given his perfectionism. In fact, this seeking of excellence is the culprit that only
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rendered him some 18 paintings over his entire

career (at least attributable to him). The importance

of detail to the warriors that Leonardo proposes is

supported by careful anatomical consideration for

even profiled figures. To describe the feel of this

work physically would be mundane, but just from

the minute details in this chalk sketch we can feel

the essence of a Warriors coarseness in the skin. A

sunned roughness of the neck that infants are driven

to explore by touching in the arms of the father. In

his eye we will find a complexity of man, responsibility, and honor. There is a dimension of

touch even in the contour of his shoulder as he braces for sure malady. And though not palpable,

we can certainly feel the energy that Leonardo had intended to shackle to the identity of these

symbols. Courage, bravery, and humility sewn together at the face of battle. In the fresco, the

sense of touch blends with the motif of weapons and armor. It is cold and yet pristine, fabricated

to demolish and protect while doing so. This contrasts with the essence of the equestrian. The

tails and mane of the temperamental horses blend with the whirlwind of battle, leaving the bliss

of nature to be shadowed by blood. This we can feel by way of touch.

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We can let our minds open to the idea

of smell. A peculiar sense, many memories

are paired with the olfactory system of the

brain. What were the memories of these men?

At that time, the smell was a rather curious

phenomenon, but these men are surely not of

the greatest odors. The sketch to the right

shows incredulous acts of movement, sweaty

and laborious training even. Like Leonardo

trained his wrist to perfect the fate of his

work. The warrior must come back to smell

another meal, the aroma of wine, and

Macedonian juniper in his hearth. He must train and it is not wrong to assume these sensations

are motivational through nostalgia. A warrior cannot possibly rely on the use of smell for tactical

purposes, but for motivational purposes, he may live to see another fight.

Much can be said about the sense that humans evolved to master, sight. One must

remember that the original work of Leonardo was lost (in fact rumored to be behind Vasari's

fresco in the Palazzo Vecchio) (Pieraccini et al.). Rubens is the only painter to have captured the

immense motion and movement that is rumored to be depicted in the original work by Leonardo.

The riders are all simultaneously engaged in brutal conflict. The most extreme contortions of

men and beast come together at The Battle of Anghiari. Notice the motion of the hair in the mane

and tails of the animals, the way they meld to the arms of their warriors. The mechanical nature

of war is also depicted in raised arms bearing down to forcefully tear something with steel. There
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is also a man cowering in the bottom left for his life with a shield.! One can see the fear and

trauma that comes second nature to such a magnanimous piece full of vibrant motion. The

figures at the bottom of the piece are having unlucky days, but this placement is not

unintentional. I propose that these men tell me what the painting means to them!

While these comparisons seem particularly airy and void of scientific rigor, the attempt to

apply a scientific

procedural lens would be

foolish to the sentiment of

the artistic work of

Leonardo. One cannot

forget the Aristotelian

virtue that backs Leonardo

at every turn. Beyond his

profound collection of

inventions and

engineering artifacts, his aptitude for knowledge forced him to steal away in the night at the fear

of persecution for his dissections. The reasons that implications can be made in this work

symbolically are linked to the motivations of Leonardo. He was a man profoundly rooted in the

extraction of truth from nature, even in the formulation of a scientific anthology regarding his

dissection. He was said to dissect some 30 bodies during his lifetime (Lone). This extraordinary

dedication to the pursuit of perfection is reflected in his work. He has proven to be exactly the

right fit for the Aristotelian label, deeply connecting the interactions of truth and reality. For

example, Leonardo exploited nature to the degree that could be expressed synthetically and
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painted the essence of life into his work. He used the truth of the world as a tool rather than a

platform of criticism. He would roll over at the postmodern idea that there is no objective truth!

Even the way Leonardo paints support the idea of the Aristotelian universals, each symbol he

paints for this battle tells a metastory (the common denominator across all narratives). This

contributes fluency to the overall effect the piece has on the eye and the heart. It has become

quite clear by this point and by these abstractions that the Battle of Anghiari was certainly a

work of Leonardo, rustling with truth in every stroke he may or may not have made on the

fresco. While this is not an attempt to proselytize Aristotelian thought, it is hard not to defend the

essence of Aristotle in the actions of Leonardo. Aristotle is owed great praise by the many that

use his ideas, which are so deeply embedded into science. Leonardo was a virtuous man,

balanced, worldly, and willing to learn. Today, we see the result of Aristotle's thinking all around

us. The way we pose a question, the way we answer it, and how we can learn from one another

have all been influenced by Aristotle. His thinking was not mundane and its place in scientific

ancestry is contributory to the feat of humans to be logical, rational, and sophisticated beings. He

was a charged thinker, poised with the power of knowledge. A scientific Moses that cleared the

seas (certainly with the help of his teacher [Plato], and his teacher before him [Socrates]) and

gave way to the freedom of enlightenment, the freedom to create art, to suppress irrational

thinking, and give meaning to life. It is a simple philosophy: accept that you will need to search

for the truth and start looking. Be wary and moderate in your hunt, for dangers and chaos are

lurking in the water. But most importantly, look down on the shoulders of the giants that you

should be most grateful to stand upon.

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Works Cited

"Aristotle’S Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy)". Plato.Stanford.Edu, 2021,

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/.

"Eudaimonia | Definition & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia.

Durant, Will. Story Of Philosophy. Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Lone, Amy. "Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomist". Leonardo, vol 48, no. 5, 2015, pp. 492-493. MIT
Press - Journals, doi:10.1162/leon_r_01127.

Lucertini, M et al. Technological Concepts And Mathematical Models In The Evolution Of

Modern Engineering Systems. 2005.

Pieraccini, M. et al. "Non-Contact Intrawall Penetrating Radar For Heritage Survey: The Search
Of The ‘Battle Of Anghiari’ By Leonardo Da Vinci". NDT & E International, vol 38, no.
2, 2005, pp. 151-157. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.ndteint.2004.07.010.
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Picabia vs. Magritte: Contrasting Cubism and Surrealism through Popperian

Aesthetics as Defined by Tomas Kulka

“In a similar way Einstein speaks of the ‘search for those highly universal laws . . . from which a

picture of the world can be obtained by pure deduction. There is no logical path’, he says,

‘leading to these . . . laws. They can only be reached by intuition, based upon something like an

intellectual love (‘Einfühlung’) of the objects of experience.’” (1968)

Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery

There is no methodology to the swing

of a dripping paint can. There is an absence of

form, line, and shape. Yet, this is deeply

embodied in the work of Jackson Pollock.

Artists who decide to depict objects found in

the real world must bravely confront their

immensely tight margins for error. An apple

can only be modified so many ways before it is no longer immediately recognizable as such;

before it loses its aesthetic function. This is Popper's great contribution to science and scientific

validity, and in this essay, we will focus on works with complex aesthetic validity (unlike

Pollock.) The Popperian aesthetic critique will fall into three categories (as defined by Tomas

Kulka) for each work of both Rene Magritte and Francis Picabia: unity (the difference in

enhancing alternative and detracting alternatives), intensity (the quotient of the difference in

enhancing alternative and detracting alternatives over insignificant alternatives), and complexity

(the volume of all possible aesthetic alternatives). Kulka defines in a mathematical sense that the
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product of these three components is what constitute the value of a given work (1989). Recall the

definitions (of a mathematical nature) that Kulka makes for the three themes of unity,

complexity, and intensity. While expressed explicitly with mathematical operations, the artistic

critiques must not be limited to this form.

Many are quick to say that there is no need for an analytical approach to art, “anything

can be art if it makes you feel something.” Contrary to popular opinion, this is an unproductive

definition. A painting must be falsifiable in the Popperian sense to qualify as what might be a

work of art. Much like science, broader theories with more statements and predictions are more

falsifiable by definition than narrow and simple claims. An artist must work diligently to not fall

off the thin body of stringent rules broad theories tend to create. A falsifiable work of art is one

that has many alternatives (it may be “good” or “bad” art) but alternatives of the work (in which

features are modified) may produce a more aesthetically functional work. Moreover, if

alternatives of the work are said to neither improve nor degrade the aesthetic functionality of a

work, it is hardly aesthetically functional. The absolute ideal work of art can be defined as one

that only has alternatives that degrade the aesthetic functionality. Conversely, the absolute wrong

work of art only has alternatives that improve the aesthetic functionality. This Popperian

aesthetic can be applied to artists of any kind to distinguish ideal works and wrong works. It is

crucial to remember though that the art in question must be falsifiable art, or it does not have an

aesthetic function (Kulka). Pollock is an excellent example of unfalsifiable art. Would you know

if the above painting was upside-down, or if Pollock himself had made a mistake while making

this work? Simply not.

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For Pollocks sake, Francis Picabia and Rene Magritte are the modernist painters that we

will analyze through this Popperian lens. The central focus of the Popperian analysis will be that

of the human body, its renderings, preconceptions, and more importantly, the common theme

across the works of each artist. A painter whose paintings sold for less than the canvas they were

painted on for some 30 years after he began working, one might not expect to find Rene Magritte

a member of the surrealist movement and master of such artistic enigma, nonetheless. He painted

with passionate mystery and each objective depiction, weather be that of a body, a train, a chair,

or a pipe, seemed to encompass more truth than his enigmatic style would allow. Magritte was a

man known to frighten viewers through his audacious melding of real objects and scenes of

fantasy. These bold risks were not without there consequences as Magritte was a rather starving

artist in his earliest years. With his first dedicated work, Le jockey perdu (The lost jockey), and

subsequent exhibitions being unsuccessful and

led him to depart Brussels, it is a miracle he

continued his passion.

The first piece to undergo the Popperian

analysis of is displayed to the bottom left. Polar

light is a piece in which two porcelain women

are displayed with missing fragments, faults

perhaps, in the endlessness of the desert dunes.

This violation of the ideal human form calls for

the viewer's imagination to reconcile with the

perturbed form of the feminine physique. In

Polar Light, we see a rather unified image and

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there is a repetition of many objects (the women, the hills, and the clouds) that provide some

significant unity. The object that is subordinated by the other elements would undoubtedly be the

mane-like object that casts down longitudinally from the tallest dune. On the opposite end of the

same stick, what has given rise to unity in the work has also limited the complexity of the work,

for few unique objects are depicted in Polar light. The intensity of a work is a more complicated

domain of Popperian aesthetics than the domains of unity and complexity (Kulka). Mainly

because intensity may also enhance the domains of unity and complexity, as it does here since

many of the alternatives that can be proposed will have little impact on the aesthetic function of

the piece, especially in comparison to the next piece that we will be viewing. On the human

form, the morphological female is rather explicitly stated in Magritte’s rendering, with the

obvious deviation as hollow and fractured beings. This is a theme that often occurs in Magritte’s

work, where objects are presented in their recognizable form, but with some contradiction

provided by either the explicit statement of such (i.e. in The treachery of images (This is not a

pipe)) or by the placement and setting of the object.

The next piece, by painter Francis Picabia (who, like Magritte, lost his mother at a

tragically young age) tells many different stories through many different representations. Picabia

is arguably one of the most diverse artists that ever painted in the 20th century, never specifically

conforming to a single artistic movement. Rather, he was able to explore several movements as

an explorer (not a visitor) and develop it without attaching to them. A story that one must recall

while discussing Picabia is the deceptive, and hilarious, way he financed his stamp collection at

15 years old. He would reproduce his father’s paintings in the home and one by one replace the

reproductions for the originals, which he then sold (TIME)! He enjoyed artistic success from his
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first individual show, something that contributed to his affinity to bounce around through

movements as his comfort and success at each was never enough of a challenge. The work to the

right is titled Atrata, a masterful yet disconcerting transparency in which many different objects

and ideas are proposed. The complexity of Atrata is astounding as if each object were to create

its own story and creating some rich anthology. The blue arrow points to the thumbs of

outstretched hands outlined in black touching at the tip, what seems to be a nod to

Michelangelo’s astonishing The Creation of Adam in which God and Adam touch fingers. The

yellow arrow points to a man that is holding what may be an Atlas stone on his shoulders, but

upon closer examination, two men are carrying this stone, and even a hand grasping it. As these

objects are outlined, there is an extreme lack of subordination. Picabia is known for stirring

discomfort in his viewers, allowing them to make many interpretations of his work. This is one

way that Magritte and Picabia are similar in their

artistic provocation. One might assume that there is

little Popperian unity in this work as dozens of

objects, faces, and other discrete representations

collide on the canvas, with fewer alterations adding

aesthetic functionality than degrading it. However,

notice how the painting allows for the flow of one

object into another new object. (To demonstrate this,

follow one point on the outline of an object you

immediately recognize and allow for it to intersect

with the outline of another object, then follow that

line to another intersection, and so on.) This is a sort

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of “pseudo unity” that Atrata so masterfully employs, even providing a mundane fluency to the

work. The intensity of the work is a questionable analysis to make, as the trichromatic scheme in

the outlines of objects ensures that none of them are filled with a color. Moreover, the

simultaneous lack of discrimination between objects and fluency in the outlines provides a

unique contribution to unity. Note that both Polar Light by Magritte and Atrata from Picabia are

uniquely falsifiable, portraying real things that would exist in the real world. The way they

portray the human body is not contentious in these works but adheres to the true form of the

human physique.

The painting to the left (The

Wonders of Nature) depicts a rather

uncanny scene, or at the very least --

off-putting. Unlike Polar Light, this

scene is rather bright and

considerably more vibrant. The blue

sky (clouds are a large symbol in

Magritte’s work) contrasts pleasantly

with the aged stone of the statue that Magritte sculpts with strokes on canvas. We are unable to

identify the exact point where the human starts, and the fish begins. While this looks just as

complex as the previous Magritte piece (Polar Light), one should note that there are subtle

themes present regarding a sort of human affection. Crashing waves on the shore emanate a

sense of intensity. The addition of a large sailing vessel in the background adds motion in such a

still scenic surf. Imagine an alteration of this work in which the stone statuettes were replaced

with flesh and scales, like a real fish and real human. The motivation for stone becomes
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apparent, for the distinction between the two might reveal a paradoxical nature to the piece.

Unity becomes the fulcrum of not just the figures upon the rock, but of The Wonders of Nature

itself. By unifying the body of a fish and man as well as unifying the theme of the openness of

the ocean (waves, vessel, rocks, and sky), there is considerable unification in this piece. Again,

Magritte’s catalog of work, while sometimes too surreal and bordering bizarre, appears to

subsidize the theme of complexity in favor of unity and intensity. While it may seem a banal

comment, there is a certain intensity that emanates from the work. What if the scene were set in

the depths of some fiery hell with our fish-figures snuggling among fire and brimstone? How

would this alteration affect this sense of intensity? Surely this would be provoking, but I invite

the viewer to imagine how this would affect the overall intensity. Undoubtedly, The Wonders of

Nature forces the human form to its limit, merging fish and man. Magritte in his classic fashion

also adding a bit of a belly to each of our figures as if their fish torsos didn’t make them quite

self-conscious enough…
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Works Cited

Art: Old Trickster. (1951). TIME.

http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,856602,00.html

Kulka, Tomas. Art and Science: An Outline of a Popperian Aesthetics. (1989). The British
Journal of Aesthetics, 29(3), 197-212.

Magritte, Rene. The Wonders of Life. (1953).

https://mcachicago.org/Publications/Blog/2016/09/Rene-Magritte-Has-Changed

Magritte, Rene. Polar Light. (1926).

https://www.wikiart.org/en/rene-magritte/polar-light-1926

Picabia, Francis. Atrata. (1929).

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Atrata/D6F945E3305910CF

Pollock, Jackson. Silver Over Black, White, Yellow, and Red, by Jackson Pollock. (1948).
https://www.jackson-pollock.org/silver-over-black-white-yellow-and-red.jsp#prettyPhoto

Popper, Karl. The logic of scientific discovery (3d ed. (revised)] ed.). (1968). London:
Hutchinson.
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An Antidote to Aging? An Essay on Bailey Doogan’s Art

Standing tall in the main atrium of the University of Arizona Health Science campus is a

15 or so foot statue of the father of modern medicine and the author of the Hippocratic oath.

Hailed for his establishment of medical ethics, modern physicians are inducted under this sacred

oath. Primum non nocerne (meaning first do no harm) appears in this oath to signify the

beneficent and nonmalfeseance of the practitioner. Is there an ethic of art? Certainly, there are

standards to craftsmanship; but is there a limit? For centuries, the idea of the nude painting has

encompassed core values: symmetry, shape, and texture coming together to create beautiful

renderings of the female body. Regardless of gender, artists lean towards this proclivity of beauty

over reality. For expectations are seldom reality and every Grecian marble statue is the pinnacle

of male form. While it is important to have these moral exemplars (i.e. statue David) to look up

to and model our behavior and sculpt ourselves, one must see the obverse of the coin. In all its

fleshiness and vulnerability, humans are not always ideal actors of life, quite the contrary. To

make things existential, there are infinite complexities to absolutely crush our finite human form.

There is no success without failure, happiness without suffering, or meaning without

responsibility. This essay will map the conceptual pushing of the human form through renderings

of feminist art by painter Baily Doogan.

A Tucson local, Bailey Doogan certainly has pushed the human form; however, not the

way a confectioner would pull and stretch melted sugar to make soft and delicious taffy. Rather,

she holds the viewers hand tightly and takes them to a vulnerable place. A meaningfully jarring

reality that feels as if the mind cannot escape the reality of aging. Confronting the standards of

the feminine aesthetic, Doogan reveals to her viewers that the agent of time distorts the
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individual perception of form. Using this to her advantage, she often represents women and men

in unnatural positions. ASSMAN (the authors personal favorite) represents a man perched on his

nape with his torso folder over him, exposing the back. Many would say that the feeling that this

work evokes is familiar, even relatable. Some days start with an hour or two of whatever this

absurd position is, cowering

with the head in between the

legs before confronting the

new daily reality. The

conception of the body for

Doogan appears to be that it

is withstanding to the force

of life, simultaneously

fragile, and most vulnerable.

In my interview with Lexie Johnson, an art student at the Laguna College of Art and Design, I

asked why Doogan may have chosen a man over a woman for ASSMAN. She replied, “If she's a

feminist artist then she probably doesn't want to portray a woman in a position where she can

look like she's sad or frustrated or having a mental breakdown” (Johnson). This charcoal drawing

stands 5 feet tall and 7 feet wide, making it quite large. There is an almost humorous nature to

the scale of the work given its content. Doogan wishes the viewer to approach this piece, perhaps

gawk at it, and leave with shattered conceptions of the female form. This is a consistent theme in

Doogan’s work.

Work can express emotions of all sorts and creativity is hardly bound to just art. A

frustrated chef (without the proper training) is easily liable to let their emotion seep into their
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dish. While this may produce an undesirable culinary

effect, we can see how Doogan’s emotions may be

rendered in her work Ex Cathedra. A female figure is

perched on her toes and arms extended forward to rest her

fingers on her knees. This is a rather fascinating posture,

the woman arched back and mouth open to the sky as if she

is cursing some omnipotent creator. There is a peculiar

flavor of distress as if the woman was subject to an

exorcism or similar ritual. In my interview with Lexie, she

states “I mean her facial expression definitely looks like she's like in some sort of pain.”

(Johnson). The notion of beauty comes to a screeching halt, only to be replaced by empathy for a

subject of suffering. However, the suffering is unapparent and openly interpretable. Is it the

cursed existence of life? A guilty conscious? Perhaps the tragic news of miscarriage on the ears

of an eager family? Doogan lets the viewer decide what exactly it is this woman is so disturbed

by. Thin and pale, the figure has extraordinary detail in the vasculature of the arms and legs. The

breasts glisten under the light source and the visual center of the work. The viewer is drawn to

trace the body line around the arms, legs and torso and her posture makes a continuous loop.

However, the harrowing facial gesture suggests that this is less about beauty and symmetry and

more about an understanding. An existential undertone denotes that perhaps beauty and suffering

are codependent. For Doogan, there cannot be a rainbow without rain. The typical artist renders

the beauty of the female form more often than distorting and aging it, but Doogan is no typical

artist. She is inclined to let emotion into her work, and this is a considerable strength. I asked
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Lexie how she would describe Ex Cathedra to someone she replied, “I don’t know. Yeah, it's just

kind of disturbing.” (Johnson)

While Doogans works are quite large and her panel works can easily cover an entire wall

of a gallery, she hasn’t just stuck to painting. She has written about many of her experiences as

an artist; however, her most interesting story is about her work for the Morton salt company to

redesign the girl on millions of cannisters of iodized American salt.

“For weeks, I churned out little girls. I made over "Mortie" (her office nickname) with
long hair, short hair, straight hair, curly hair, varying degrees of femme-y dresses, and
sockless or socked shoes—no pants, no boots. The eyes of 12 men, all dressed in
identical black three-piece suits, (the youngest pushing 60) were on me as I stood,
looking suspiciously like a hippie to them, holding up one little girl after the other. The
mood in the room was somber; no one cracked a smile. After what seemed an
interminable stony silence, I heard, "No long hair! She looks like a hippie!" The
floodgates had opened. There was no stopping the directors: "She looks like a smarty
pants!" "Too Jewish!" "No dark hair!" "She’s too old!" "Looks like a dyke to me!" "She
looks easy!" "Not enough leg!" "No puffed sleeves! They call too much attention to her
chest!" Her chest? What was she––7, maybe 8 years old? I fought a simultaneous need to
laugh and throw up.
None of the little girls was right” (Doogan)

Doogan’s past experiences working with an insurmountable social pressure to represent

femininity in such perfect style are clearly a cornerstone of her work. Her work is not an attempt

to impress or deceive anyone, rather it is a constant two middle fingers to the expectations of the

viewer for the sake of the reality of human existence. The next work, titled Mass, forces the

viewer to compare between the masculine form and the feminine form simultaneously.
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The figure on the left seems to be holding himself up on the back of the chair while his body falls

over the sides with incredible flexibility. His bald figure is paired with wrinkled skin (almost like

scars) that accent the veins in the legs, feet and arms. Note that the male figure is not particularly

muscular (not by any Greek marble standards at least) but rather thin. My classmate Amanda

Crandall, a veterinary sciences and natural resources sophomore, calls the dichotomy presented

in the piece a "Physical and mental torture" and the figures “rather emaciated.” (Crandell). The

chair he is on also seems to be decrepit, bent with old, aged wood legs. Splintering wooden

chairs are unforgiving to the naked body… The woman appears to be miming in a box, a thought

that is automatically accompanied by a smile. Again, Doogan shows the viewer a woman with a

gaping mouth in fear or excitement. Is it just part of her miming act? Is she vulnerable? Is she

perturbed by her partner to the left, trying to look away? Her ribcage, humerus, and pelvis peek

through her figure. This detail continues to push the idea that the body inevitable changes

overtime. Finally, the smokey blood-like feature above the back of the chair might be of interest.

Assuming the red is smoke reflecting off the chair if It were burning, this layering of possibilities
 24

of interpretation is satisfying and artistic. Does she mean to suggest the repentance of men?

Doogan conceptualizes aging in her work and style in such a way that she is able to capitalize

some power from it. She creates a disorder that we are enticed by that simultaneously reminds

her of her own fragility and mortality; she owns it. Doogan’s art could be considered a coping

mechanism, some kind of antidote for aging.

Physiologically, scientists have been unable to prevent the effects of aging physically or

mentally. Today, aerobic based exercise is the most effective preventative to the onset of

dementia (though much research is still needed) (Ahlskog et al.). The collagen in the body breaks

down and changes over time, leaving it to drape over the muscles and bones less tightly than

before. In the next piece,

titled The Hard Place,

there is a woman

lounging on what

appears to be a plateau

island in the water. The

intricate formation and

texture in the cliff face

suggest it is not a rock,

but rather a mountain

holding up the larger-than-life woman. Her form appears relaxed with her arms to the side. Upon

noticing blood on the drapery (conveniently near her heart, which her hand is also hovering

above) one might assume this woman is not relaxed and lounging but dying. This work is

Doogans pièce de resistance. A woman is veiled by a drapery, her form and figure hidden from
 25

the viewer. She is not fearful; her mouth is not agape with the touch spilling out as if it were a

cartoon. This woman is at peace. The inscription in the top left reads, “Your mind is your

strongest weapon because they cannot control your mind. They cannot get inside and that’s their

failure.” Doogan lets her viewer know that she is portraying exactly what she wants, refusing to

be manipulated like a marionette. It’s an artistic statement something like a Gayle Forman quote,

“Dying is easy. Living is the hard part.” The dying woman is the only subject who looks at peace

while the living subjects all look as if they wish they were dead.

Bailey Doogan isn’t trying to pull the wool over your eyes. She is an artist depicting the

renditions of the human form that are necessary of depiction. Her pieces portray the continued

struggle of existence, self-tolerance, and the fragility of the body. By bringing the feminine

physique into such contentious contexts, she is able to express herself not just as an artist, but as

a woman. Doogan’s ideas, while challenging to confront and accept, carve out an important part

of the artistic landscape. They encourage the viewer to think about their life, even through

depicting death. They encourage the viewer to think about their actions, even though they see

inaction. But most importantly, Doogan encourages the viewer to live their life through their

eyes for “they cannot get inside and that is their failure.”
 26

Works Cited

Ahlskog, J Eric et al. “Physical exercise as a preventive or disease-modifying treatment of

dementia and brain aging.” Mayo Clinic proceedings vol. 86,9 (2011): 876-84.
doi:10.4065/mcp.2011.0252

Doogan, Bailey. Ex Cathedra. 1993,

http://www.baileydoogan.com/work/paintings/ExCathedra.html.

Doogan, Bailey. Mass. 1991, http://www.baileydoogan.com/work/paintings/Mass.html.

Doogan, Bailey. Spell I (ASSMAN). 1996,

http://www.baileydoogan.com/work/drawings/SpellIASSMAN.html

Doogan, Bailey. The Hard Place. 1990,

http://www.baileydoogan.com/work/drawings/TheHardPlace.html.

Crandall, Amanda. Honors 1067, 2021. Veterinary sciences and natural resources, University of
Arizona. alcrandall@email.arizona.edu

Doogan, Bailey. "Ally Mcbeal Meets The Coppertone Girl". Utne.Com, 2001,
https://www.utne.com/community/ally-mcbeal-meets-the-coppertone-gi.

Johnson, Lexie. Zoom, 2021. Art and design, sophomore, Laguna College of Art and Design.
Lexiejohnson2001@gmail.com
 27

A Chat About Medicine

VITRO, NUDE, and MEA stand in the medical school lecture chamber and have a debate about
the most influential period of medicine.

VITRO: Mea and Nude, what do you guys consider to be the most gob smacking period of
medicine, the one that changed the game?

MEA: You sound so dumb, Vitro...

NUDE: Medicine has only been worth a damn for... oh my, like 100 years.

VITRO: You guys suck. I would have to say that the most influential period was bleeding!
Barbers didn't always cut hair but drained blood from their patients with the aim to correct a
balance in their humor. This practice literally involved a knife, infection almost guaranteed, and
some vascular tissue and a bucket.

MEA: What in God's name were those people thinking, silly fools! Remember when people used
leaches, onions, amputations, and lobotomy!

NUDE: Honestly, I miss those days... All I hear now is penicillin this, penicillin that.

VITRO: You should get your head checked... But Mea, our ancestors were not stupid. They are
actually responsible for some incredible shift in thinking, like working for the future! That is an
amazing one.

MEA: It took a lot of sacrifices to come this far, and now we have institutions and universities
that teach the meaning of responsibility. Be it costly and time consuming, it is worthwhile.
 28

NUDE: My favorite period was when the heart-lung machine was invented in 1953. This opened
up an entirely new world for surgical intervention and allowed amazing surgeries to be
performed. Since then, cardiology has rapidly advanced into all sorts of new sciences

MEA: That's a well-thought response. For me, the sequencing of the human genome catapulted
the biomedical revolution that will lead to discoveries of ineffective cancer treatments. This is
truly the cutting edge, inside the reiterating material that makes each of us so unique.

VITRO: I still like bleeding... its cathartic.

MEA: Technically, it's less than useless.

NUDE: Stop bickering you two... You should both relax more and be abstract.

MEA: From the highest of your ego, all the way down to your IQ... what a long and lonely fall it
would be.

VITRO: You are as foolish as any of us! Your advancement is your pitfall. The evil of good is
perfect, and you have outdone yourself now!

MEA: YOU ARE VICTIM OF THINKING, ONLY TRANSCENDED FROM YOUR

SUFFERING! THINKING IS AN EXCELLENT SERVANT, BUT A TYRANNICAL
MASTER!

VITRO: You still have that plank in your eye, dumbass.

NUDE: God, I love the intelligence here. Let's go to Cold Stone, you guys just need to chill.

ALL FADE INTO THE CREAMERY w/ ICECREAM EATING MONTAGE set to Billy Joel's
"My Life”
 29

A Misinterpreted One Point Perspective