Silent Work 1992

Editor: This is Kiki Smith's "Silent Work" from 1992. It's a striking black ink print of human figures and a flower. There's a starkness and vulnerability to the representation of the body. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: I'm drawn to the way Smith engages with the history of anatomical illustration, a field historically dominated by male perspectives. How does she reclaim the body, particularly the female body, as a site of knowledge and experience? Consider how the print medium itself democratizes this imagery, making it accessible beyond medical or scientific elites. Editor: So it's about accessibility and subverting historical norms? Curator: Precisely. And think about the political implications. In the context of the AIDS crisis and feminist body politics of the 1990s, representing the body, especially in a raw, unidealized way, was a powerful statement. What do you make of the flower? Editor: Maybe a symbol of fragility alongside the corporeal? I'm seeing so much more depth now.