Teasing Death

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on March 5, 2014 at 9:45am

Curator’s Comments:

 

Teasing Death is a funny macabre piece, keeping in the rich tradition of Latin Calaveras.  The saturated primary color injects life into the spirited animation, as the lush aqua and cobalt ground offsets the lighter figures.  I find it interesting that the skeleton is considerably more abstract than his sock monkey companion- composed of smoother graphic shapes that are separately articulated, with only their visual proximity for connection.  The decorative motifs such as dots and crosses break up the larger areas in his skull, but also serve to flatten the spatial plane. The small bones in his fingers and hand, extended towards the fleeing monkey, provide movement and gesture in the way of a dotted line.  The monkey enjoys a richer graduation of value- fleshing out the form, along with his prized donut.  This is a highly enjoyable work from a visual standpoint, along with a nod to the age old fascination with cheating death.