Tahitian Woman with Evil Spirit c. 1899 - 1900

Editor: Here we have Paul Gauguin's "Tahitian Woman with Evil Spirit," created around 1899-1900. It looks to be primarily watercolor, chalk, and pastel on paper. The figure is… obscured, almost fading into the ochre background, which lends a haunting mood. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: What I notice immediately are the raw materials – the layering of chalk, pastel and watercolor. We see Gauguin experimenting with readily available, relatively inexpensive media to represent, perhaps even construct, his vision of Tahiti. The paper itself becomes significant, a surface upon which this constructed "exotic" identity is created for consumption. Consider how this differs from traditional oil paintings, the art associated with the European establishment at the time. Editor: That's fascinating. So you’re saying the choice of materials and their accessibility impacts our understanding of the image itself and Gauguin’s position in Tahiti? Curator: Precisely. He’s deliberately sidestepping high art materials and traditions. Look at how the application – the sketchiness of the lines, the blending of the colours – suggests immediacy, perhaps even a manufactured ‘authenticity.’ Consider the economic relationship between Gauguin, his Parisian dealers, and the Tahitian people he depicts and how those dynamics play out in the art he makes. Was this art being consumed to perpetuate specific stereotypes of Tahitian women at the time? Editor: I never considered the art market’s role in this work. It’s incredible how looking at the materiality of it changes my perspective entirely. I'm beginning to consider all of the levels of production: creating, selling, consuming! Curator: It reframes the image doesn't it? Away from simple aesthetics towards thinking about the forces – artistic, economic, and social – that were at play in its making. Editor: Definitely. I’ll be thinking about materiality and consumption for a while now. Thanks!