Eat Me the Gluttony Or Lust 1976 by Lygia Pape
Eat Me. The Gluttony or Lust
Lygia Pape’s Provocative Dialogue with the Body and Desire
Emerging from the radical Neo-Concretist movement in 1970s Brazil, Eat Me. The Gluttony or Lust stands as one of Lygia Pape’s most confrontational works. Created in 1976, this piece distills the artist’s lifelong fascination with the body’s fragility and the visceral tensions between pleasure and consumption. The title itself—a direct, almost imperative command—frames the work as an invitation and a warning, a duality that permeates Pape’s oeuvre. Unlike her earlier geometric abstractions, this composition leans into the grotesque, using organic forms and a palette that oscillates between the carnal and the clinical. The piece reflects Brazil’s political turbulence of the era, where censorship and repression made the body a contested site of both control and liberation.
Pape’s approach here diverges from the cool rationalism of Concrete art, instead embracing the messy, the tactile, and the psychologically charged. The work’s layered textures and ambiguous shapes resist easy interpretation, demanding that viewers confront their own discomfort. As MoMA’s retrospective on Pape notes, her later works often “weaponized sensuality” to critique societal norms, and Eat Me exemplifies this strategy. The piece’s raw immediacy—achieved through mixed media on paper—creates a tension between the handmade and the mechanical, a hallmark of Pape’s ability to merge craft with conceptual rigor.
Neo-Concretism and the Politics of the Body
By the mid-1970s, Lygia Pape had long abandoned the strict formalism of her early career, instead channeling her energies into works that interrogated power, gender, and the human form. Eat Me. The Gluttony or Lust arrived at a pivotal moment: Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964–1985) had entered its most repressive phase, and artists like Pape used their practice to subvert state-controlled narratives. Unlike her contemporaries in the Neo-Concretist movement—such as Hélio Oiticica or Lygia Clark—Pape’s work from this period often eschewed participatory elements in favor of confrontational imagery. This piece, with its suggestive title and fleshy abstractions, directly engages with themes of consumption, both literal and metaphorical.
The artwork’s creation coincided with Pape’s deepening interest in the body as a site of resistance. While her 1960s Divisor series explored collective identity through fabric and movement, Eat Me turns inward, focusing on the individual’s relationship with desire and excess. The work’s layered surfaces—part drawing, part collage—mirror the complexity of its themes, rejecting the flatness of Modernist abstraction in favor of a more visceral, almost baroque, density. As The Art Story observes, Pape’s later works “dismantle the boundary between art and life,” and this piece embodies that ethos through its unflinching materiality.
Pape’s Eat Me doesn’t just depict gluttony—it enacts it. The work’s tactile surfaces and ambiguous forms force viewers to grapple with their own complicity in systems of consumption, whether political, sexual, or economic.
The Making of a Provocation
Composition: Fragmentation and Flow
The work’s composition defies traditional balance, instead employing a deliberate imbalance to unsettle the viewer. Pape arranges organic, almost visceral shapes in a way that suggests both growth and decay—forms appear to pulsate outward from the center, only to dissolve into jagged edges. This tension between expansion and collapse mirrors the artwork’s thematic concerns with desire and its consequences. The absence of a clear focal point forces the eye to wander, replicating the restless, insatiable quality implied by the title.
Materiality: The Tactile and the Transgressive
Pape’s use of mixed media—ink, gouache, and collaged elements—creates a surface that is as much about texture as it is about image. The layered materials produce a tactile quality that invites and repels in equal measure, much like the work’s subject matter. Areas of dense pigment contrast with sections where the paper itself becomes part of the composition, its grain and tears adding to the sense of fragility. This material honesty underscores Pape’s rejection of artifice, a stance that aligned her with the Neo-Concretist manifesto’s call for “a new objectivity” rooted in lived experience.
Own This Provocative Neo-Concretist Statement
This framed print captures the raw intensity of Pape’s original, presented in a gallery-quality frame that complements its bold composition. Free worldwide shipping ensures your print arrives ready to display, with no hidden costs or minimum order requirements.
Add to CartDisplaying Pape’s Radical Vision
This print’s confrontational energy demands a setting that can match its intensity. In contemporary interiors, it serves as a focal point for spaces that embrace bold contrasts—think matte black or deep navy walls, which amplify the work’s visceral palette. The 30×40 cm size makes it ideal for placement above a console table in a living area or as a statement piece in a home office, where its themes of consumption and creativity can spark conversation. Avoid overly minimalist surroundings; instead, pair it with textured fabrics or raw materials like concrete or aged wood to echo Pape’s material experimentation. For collectors of Latin American art, this print bridges the gap between historical movements and current dialogues around bodily autonomy and political resistance.
What frame is included, and how is it constructed?
The print arrives in a custom-milled solid wood frame with a matte finish, designed to complement the artwork’s bold character. The frame includes UV-protective acrylic glazing to prevent fading and a backing board for structural integrity.
Where do you ship for free, and how long does delivery take?
We offer free shipping to all countries, with no minimum purchase required. Delivery typically takes 5–10 business days, depending on your location. All orders include tracking.
How archival is the print, and will the colors fade over time?
The print uses pigment-based inks on acid-free paper, rated for 100+ years without significant fading under normal lighting conditions. The UV-protective glazing in the frame further extends its longevity.
What is your return policy?
You may return your print within 30 days of delivery for a full refund, no questions asked. We cover return shipping costs if the item arrives damaged or defective.
Sources & Further Reading
- MoMA. "Lygia Pape: A Multitude of Forms." The Museum of Modern Art, 2021.
- The Art Story. "Lygia Pape: Neo-Concretism and Beyond." The Art Story Foundation, 2023.
More Works by Lygia Pape
Explore the breadth of Pape’s practice, from her geometric abstractions to her later, more figurative provocations.
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Further Reading
Deep dive into Lygia Pape’s influence and the Neo-Concretist movement with these editorial features:
Ready to Bring Pape’s Radical Vision Home?
This framed print arrives ready to hang, with free worldwide shipping and a 30-day return window. The gallery-quality frame ensures the artwork’s bold composition takes center stage in your space.
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