HELMI JUVONEN : SYMBOL, MYTH, FANTASY
ID#:
2009.0050.000007
Description:
Untitled, 1955—1959
Mixed media paper cutout
Gift of Ron Kellen, 2009.50.7

Helmi made dozens of paper cutouts during her career. The artist often included them in the letters that she wrote from Elma. Some are totally abstract — curvilinear or geometric — on brightly colored construction paper. Others, like this example, are more complex due to the artist's mixing of media.

Here, Helmi takes a magazine advertisement and creates heart—shaped paper cut—outs in her "peasant design." She leaves the image of a woman intact and then tatoos her with paint, creating a chic style that appears surprisingly contemporary today.
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