01 Contemporary Interpretations, Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion, with footnotes #10

Javiera Estrada, United States

Goddess of Beauty

Collage

Size: 60 H x 36 W x 2.5 in

Private collection

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus; her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Myrtle, roses, doves, sparrows and swans were sacred to her.

Aphrodite was created from the sea foam produced by Uranus's genitals, which had been severed by Cronus. In Homer's Iliad, however, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. In Greek mythology, the other gods feared that Aphrodite's beauty might lead to conflict and war, through rivalry for her favours; so Zeus married her off to Hephaestus. Despite this, Aphrodite followed her own inclinations, and had many lovers — both gods, such as Ares, and men, such as Anchises. She played a role in the Eros and Psyche legend, and was both lover and surrogate mother of Adonis. More on Aphrodite 

Javiera Estrada was born in Mexico in 1981 and moved to the United States in 1989. Her childhood was heavily influenced by her training in classical piano and violin, which continues to inspire her aesthetic today. She attended Santa Monica College. Estrada’s broad scope of work is a reflection of memories that she has shaped into her reality. A multifarious artist, Estrada’s creative expression encompasses traditional photography alongside mixed media. Her mixed media works are a comment on the natural cycle of decomposition and reflected through the deconstruction of the image. Estrada has exhibited in galleries in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her work is part of private and corporate collections internationally. In 2014 she won Art Slant’s Juried Competition, was a 2015 finalist for the Emerging Focus Competition and is the 2017 winner of the ND Awards Fine Art Category. Estrada made her first short film in 2017 entitled, The Dream, which was selected in Best of Shorts at the Carmel International Film Festival. Estrada currently lives and works in Los Angeles. More on Javiera Estrada

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

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01 Contemporary Interpretations, Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion, with footnotes #7

Laurence Winram, United Kingdom

Nude - Mihaela as Cerynitis II

Photography: Color on Paper.

Size: 23.4 H x 16.5 W x 0 in

Private collection

In Greek mythology, the Ceryneian Hind (Greek: Ελαφος Κερυνῖτις Elaphos Kerynitis), also called Cerynitis or the Golden Hind, was an enormous hind, who lived in Keryneia, Greece. It was sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, animals and unmarried women. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze or brass, and it was said that it could outrun an arrow in flight. The capture of the hind was the third labour of Heracles.

Laurence Winram.  Now based in Edinburgh, Scotland. My main current ongoing project is Mythoslogos - The ancient Greeks made sense of their world not only by logic but by myth too. They saw it was necessary to view things in these opposite ways in order to have a balanced understanding of their lives. I feel we have moved out of that balance, unconsciously letting go of that mythic element to our lives. As a result we've lost touch with our own personal vision and creativity. We let a dogmatic scientific perspective rule everything, from our dreams to our notions of the spiritual. So in this series I try to reflect on this, creating images that sometimes imagine a world where logic has been usurped by the mythic, or images that mock our need to analyse and break down those parts of our life that we should truly respond to more intuitively. Recently I've been exploring studio nude photography. I'm not interested in glamour in these images, I'm much more drawn to echoing the beauty of the female form within the context of the framing of the shot to create an abstract graphic quality. I Also use creative lighting often with projectors to enhance this. Please view my personal work website or contact me if you would like to see more, or if you wish to purchase images you don't see here. More on Laurence Winram

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.