The Outrageous Erotica of the "Foul-Talk Nun" by American Painting Lisa Yuskavage

The paintings of American artist Lisa Yuskavage have been delighting connoisseurs of contemporary art for 40 years. Her work is considered controversial, scandalous and even vulgar, but collectors are willing to pay big money for each painting. The artist treats her reputation with humor and continues to shock the public. (Caution! Nude nature).

Lisa Yuskavage was born in 1962 to a simple working-class family in Philadelphia. Her parents were devout Catholics and Lisa even thought about becoming a nun. Fortunately, this did not happen, otherwise the world might never have learned about her remarkable talent. Instead of a monastery, Yuskavage entered the Tyler School of Art.

Although Lisa's parents were far from art - her father delivered pies in a van, and her mother was a housewife - they approved of their daughter's choice. After graduating from art school, she entered Yale University, and they could be proud of her. Her parents did not know that Lisa worked as a model and posed nude in her free time.

The artist once described her work, which is completely at odds with religiosity, with her characteristic wit: “I’m a nun, just a foul-mouthed one.” Lisa Yuskavage was noticed immediately after graduating from Yale. In 1986, she presented a series of paintings, “Bad Kids,” with naked teenagers in the style of manga.

She entered the art world with a reputation as a provocateur and kept it. The artist's first exhibition was a huge success, but for some reason disappointed the author. Yuskavage stopped painting and even thought about changing her line of work. But she only lasted a year. The depression ended and Lisa began to create with redoubled force. Critics write about her paintings:

The artist herself says that she is inspired by Giovanni Bellini, Johannes Vermeer and Edgar Degas, as well as… illustrations from men's magazines. Yuskavage's favorite publication is Penthouse, which, according to her, gives her an inexhaustible flow of ideas.