Bigamy Hood 1965

Editor: So, this is Judy Chicago's "Bigamy Hood" from 1965, created with acrylic paint. The shapes and colours feel so…deliberate. What do you see in this piece that I might be missing? Curator: Well, right away, the hood shape itself speaks to me of protection, perhaps a cloaking, even hiding. But the bright yellow and symmetrical, almost iconic, arrangement complicates that. Editor: Iconic, like a…religious icon? Curator: Precisely! Notice how the "Bigamy Hood" isn’t chaotic abstract expressionism, despite that being its initial categorization; it presents as something meticulously constructed, hinting at ritual and embedded meanings. Those apple-like shapes, could those represent temptation and a skewed, maybe dangerous innocence? And what does "bigamy" itself suggest? Editor: A second marriage. A transgression… Is she layering those meanings, so the hood hides both transgression and something holy? Curator: Interesting. Consider the visual tension, the juxtaposition. Chicago provides building blocks of what it is to be a woman. Are we seeing conflicting narratives represented through domestic or societal objects? What feelings does it evoke in you? Editor: Unease, definitely. As though familiar symbols are being used in an unfamiliar language, something isn't right, unsettling in its symmetry. Curator: Exactly! Chicago masterfully manipulates our shared cultural language. And seeing this again, I see the hint of a face looking back at me, demanding attention to those symbols and colours. It speaks loudly now. Editor: So it seems to transform from an abstraction into a statement over time. Thanks, this makes it really come alive!