For my second pass at the Venus in Fur poster, I decided to focus on the tight shiny leather glove as the dominatrix raised a finger to her lips to insist on silence. I imagined her saying Shhhh. I was thinking of a woman who might say, “Hey, I’m up here.” Meaning the guy is not looking where he should. Anyway, she is scolding the director.
I also did not know who would be cast as Vanda. I just needed to see her lips, so I avoided painting her nose on upwards. I case Vanda with flowing blonde hair and bright red lipstick. Most people would be looking at the outline of her tight black lace bra and her cleavage. That hidden valley punctuated by a small black bow was the star of the poster.
When John Singer Sargent painted a bare shoulder in his 1884 portrait, of Madame X, there was a major uproar in the Paris Salon. It was considered indecent, immoral, and a “slap in the face” to Parisian social standards. I had done a life sized copy of that Madam X painting for a New York City theater stage production so that painting was certainly on my mind.
In this poster I had one shoulder covered in rich black fur and the other was bare with the necessary strap to hold the black lace bra in place. Were that strap to slip, and it is dangerously close to doing so, then gravity would cause a wardrobe malfunction. I made sure to keep the bra strap in place so as not to upset Orlando High Society.
Anyway this concept hit the mark for a play about domination and masochism. I had darkened the flesh of the face so it receded into the darkness a bit, but the chest was painted a bright pasty white. I know that a viewer’s gaze will go to the brightest highlights and in this case that has to be the breasts.
In the approval meeting there was some discussion and concern because no one knew who might be cast as Vanda. At the Shakes any actress could get the part in the auditions. She could be any nationality or skin color. They were not looking specifically for a fair skinned blonde. She might be brunette. I had to show the actress and certainly I had to show plenty of flesh. It seemed like an impossible catch 22 conundrum. I needed to give it thought back at the studio and find some solution. I wasn’t sure a solution existed and I felt that this version of the poster was hitting the mark. I might have to paint the tools of the trade, like whips and other leather goods but I liked this in-your-face sexuality. Just don’t look her in the eyes. The flesh in this painting still needed some loving touches but I left it as it is to embrace change.