Dance of Jubilee

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on June 20, 2017 at 9:58am

Curator’s Comments: 

 

Dance of Jubilee came up randomly for me today, and I became enamored with the figurative stylization.  This piece seems different from the other pastel drawings you have on the site in its angular abstraction.  The space is particularly dynamic, as the gestures of the bodies interrupt and cross the central focus of the picture plane.  The negative white spaces between them form a bold value pattern.  I also enjoy the blank faces on the figures, as the lack of individuality reinforces the universality of the dance.  The graduation of value within their bodies is also interesting visually. Again, the lack of specificity eliminates the depiction of a particular racial identity, while the blending of color implies a physical (or spiritual) transformation. I read the references to natural light (the sun) and human constructed (candles) as iconographic elements.  The yellow color streaming from the dancers’ hands could be another form of generated energy. 

I realize this was posted many years ago, and do hope you add new work to the site.