BLOG POST: SI# 7 Appropriation

Title: Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

Artist: Andrea Solario (Italian, Milan ca. 1465–1524 Milan)

Date: ca. 1507–9

Medium: Oil on wood

Dimensions: 22 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. (57.2 x 47 cm)

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist is about Salome, who is granted one wish by her father, King Herald. Her wish was to have the head of St. John the Baptist on a platter because he opposed her mother’s marriage to the King. In the painting, Salome is depicted holding the platter beneath St. John’s head.

To repurpose this, I want to use the same composition of the executioner, platter, head, and the person holding the platter. It will actually reference SI #1 where the person is tearing apart their chest to reveal themselves to the internet. The person in SI #1 is actually an internet persona. In this piece, their head will be depicted hovering above a platter, held by the owner of the persona. When children are exposed to the internet, they become vulnerable - entrusting strangers with their secrets. While it is a space to be themselves, they are susceptible to influence and unconsciously start crafting a persona to maintain the attention of the internet. It is a burden to follow the expectations of the internet to not lose their attention. To demonstrate this, the owner of the persona wishes for their internet persona to be executed - to have their head on a platter. This is so that they are freed from the expectations of the internet.