“I don’t care about anything anymore. Not about lingerie or men. All the love I had left to give has faded away. Nakedness is the only state that does not change. Hard nipples. The nostalgic reminiscence of a love I always longed to have, but never received. Instead, it stabbed me in the back when I least expected it. My heart has been shattered so many times I no longer feel corporeal, but ethereal. No more hopes for me. I won’t continue deluding myself hoping to find something that’ll make me feel better. I know I won’t find it anywhere. I try not to hurt others, but everything gets out of control. I just want to lie there naked and forget all this pain. Light a cigarette, enjoy myself.”
How many times have women been accused of being the reason behind everything? Well, since the beginning of time. It was Eve’s fault for eating the apple. Salome’s fault for not forgiving John the Baptist’s disdain. Delilah’s fault for cutting off Samson’s hair. I could bring up more examples of women that have unleashed wars and conflicts.
It seems that the symbolism women acquired during the expressionist and avant-garde movements has remained. Klimt and Munch introduced the idea that women would destroy the world. It was feminism that ignited their notion. During the early decades of the twenty-first century, with the rise of feminism , as well as the empowerment of women, the gender was perceived as cold and calculating. The figure of the femme fatale was born: a woman that uses her cunning sensuality to trap and undermine the moral principles of the most virtuous of men, who would only notice what was happening until it was too late.
Such a seductive and villainous woman has no place for kindness in her heart and can set the whole world on fire. Perhaps it’s not her intention, but it’s the only thing that can ease her pain. If we asked her, she would deny all of this, but we know what lies behind. We know about all those dead bodies she has left in her wake, and her eyes cannot hide her pain.
That woman is different. She is daring enough to take a man’s virility away to turn him into a puppet. She may add a little touch of masochism dressed in provocative lace or leather lingerie. Her fleshy cherry lips make her seem like an innocent lamb.
We don’t know for sure where does the essence of this woman’s unique beauty and strong character come from. With a single suggestive gaze or gesture, she can bring down any man’s defenses and drive them insane. She is as sensual as she is powerful. Whether she hides behind dark shadows or colors, the temptation of her curvaceous body imprisons both the men who desire to have them between their arms and the women who desire the erotic power they possess in an elusive dream.
Italian illustrator Giuseppe Cristiano has created unique and colorful designs that depict a different kind of woman, sensual, provocative, and also powerful. This concept has been one of his main trademarks since he was very young. He first creates part of his designs drawing in paper and then finishes it with Photoshop.
Giuseppe Cristiano is also a musician with the stage name J. Crist. Apart from these designs, he has written storyboards, as well as produced and directed small budget films, animations, and documentaries. Many of his books are used at film schools and universities, where he also teaches or organizes workshops. Most of his art is conceptual.
You may also like:
The Femme Fatales That Became Emblems Of Lust And Ambition
***
Translated by Andrea Valle Gracia
