Fear

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on September 12, 2011 at 7:05pm

Curator’s Comment:

 

The faceless, anonymous gunmen function as a unified force, reminiscent of Goya’s seminal Third of May.   While the intended target doesn’t strike the innocent posture of Goya’s unarmed civilian, he appears no less vulnerable in his shirtless, surprised demeanor.  But despite the classical overtone, I find this piece (successfully) disturbing in its timeless depiction of brutality.  The gestural style anchors the piece in the present, with flame like brushstrokes and emotional abstraction of form.  Despite the vivid color and forceful movement in the piece, it also appears to depict a frozen moment of decision.  The cropping of space harkens to a photographic image, while the dark barrier in the bottom left corner holds the viewer back from the critical edge of the encounter.

Your more abstracted microbial inspired pieces seem a marked departure from the narrative works addressing terrorism- i.e. Dance of Freedom.  I feel that Pond is rhythmic and engaging, and despite the nearly non-objective subject matter, carries a similarly physical handling of the pigment and space.  Notwithstanding the formal connection, for me it doesn’t carry the same weight or strength as the voice that speaks to social conflict in our time, through the visual language of our past.