Angels 2002

Arsen Savadov made this photograph, Angels, at an unspecified date. Oh my god, what a scene! There are five, count ‘em, five nude, winged figures in what looks like an old rowboat, right? I can only imagine what Savadov was thinking when he made this. It's almost humorous, but it does have an edge. It's interesting to see how the muted tones of the sky and sea contrast with the men’s skin. The tattoos are almost like additional wings. This photograph places itself right in the artistic conversation about representation. Think about classic allegorical paintings like, oh I don’t know, *The Raft of the Medusa*. Here Savadov, though, seems less interested in grand narratives and more interested in a kind of gritty reality mixed with fantasy. It’s this meeting of disparate elements that makes this image so striking. Artists, we’re always stealing from each other, transforming what came before into something new. And who knows? Maybe the next great artwork is lurking just around the corner, waiting to be born.