Deer Hunting

This next topic I chose is the one where we see a deer as a relevant character. So let's see how much these paintings are alike...



In Frida's painting "The Wounded Deer" (La Venadita Herida) symbolizes a significant period after a surgery performed in New York upon 1946 where she hoped she would get rid of her back pain, consequence of her spine accident.

The painting has several interpretations; the deer shape was inspired from her pet deer "Granizo", however here she has the head of a woman. It could represent her wounded by arrows and tied to an inevitable fate, even though there is a lit sky upon the distance. It could also represent her womanhood being challenged again and again. In dreams a deer symbolizes grace, gentleness and natural beauty.

photo by Joseph Cultice

In the case of Manson's deer however, it's actually a fawn. The interpretation varies, it comes from a series of pictures where the animal is either placed on his lap or beside him. One interpretation could be that is a representation of the lost childhood vs the present self which appears to be perverse. The other can also be a piece of fragility or purity that's not completely separated from the darker side. Likewise, most of the time it stands for innocence that Manson wants to walk away from.

As in the video "Tourniquet" and several others the fragile creature could have later turned into a woman and it falls to pieces every time it comes into Manson's life.

"Just another funeral, just another girl left in tears..." (from Eat Me, Drink Me "They Say That's Hell's Not Hot").

Although the meaning of deer differs in both images we can still find lot of visual parallels, can you?