Marlene Dumas: One Hundred Models And Endless Rejects

by Jill Medvedow, Jessica Morgan

South African artist Marlene Dumas has cultivated a unique position within the world of figurative painting since the early 1980s, focusing on how the human body is translated into an image. Dumas dose not use models, but instead takes her images from mass media and popular culture sources, particularly newspapers and television. According to Dumas, ''what interested me was to make a statement about peoples' frames of mind and the relationships between them.'' Dumas' pictures impress with their urgent realism--but within their provocative energy lurk provocative questions about gender, identity, oppression, sexual and ethnic violence, and the situation of women and minorities; Dumas is always seeking to initiate new thought processes and critical strategies. Featuring the series of drawings One Hundred Models and Endless Rejects, this book provides an overview of the last ten years of Dumas' brilliant and challenging work.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kerfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

For inspiration, this is my favorite Marlene Dumas book. The large and clear reproductions of the faces show the subtle differences in approach to each one. And the sheer volume invites comparison which invites a wandering of the mind (and perhaps the hand to follow). The essays are unpretentious and thoughtful; the quotes from Mary Gaitskill add depth.

[Maisie ingram · Rating 4 out of 5]

So brilliant to read her writing. “Paintings are jealous” they demand our attention. Also big thoughts on repetition as process. God I love her

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library and would love to have it in my own personal collection. This book is filled with haunting faces.

A couple of quotes I liked:
" Rejects enjoy the freedom to constantly change one mind. No reject becomes a model but every model fears rejection."

"What do a model and a lunatic have in common? A blankness, it seems, in order to fit our dreams."