A Nose Adjustment (Face Farce) 1971

Arnulf Rainer created "A Nose Adjustment (Face Farce)" by layering paint over a photograph, a technique he termed "overpainting." Rainer, who lived through World War II in Austria, developed a practice that confronts the anxieties of existence and the fragility of the self. In this work, the artist manipulates his own portrait, pushing and pulling at the face, almost as if to escape the confines of his own skin. The exaggerated nose and obscured features can be understood as an attempt to distort conventional beauty standards. Consider how Rainer’s layered approach embodies a kind of dialogue, as if he were actively conversing with and altering his identity. Rainer once said, "Art is a form of exorcism." This idea comes through when viewing his work. "A Nose Adjustment" is both a personal and universal statement about the complex relationship between identity, representation, and the human condition.