The Kite 1900

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan created "The Kite" as an etching. Etchings like this one became quite popular at the turn of the 20th century. What might it have meant to capture a public park, with all its denizens, at this moment in time? There's a lone figure flying a kite above the park, a lion sits atop a plinth and a fashionable woman is in the foreground. If we consider the rigid class and gender structures of the time, the kite can be seen as a symbol of liberation. The kite flies above everything, unrestrained by earthly tethers. MacLaughlan's composition invites us to consider the diverse experiences within public spaces. It suggests a shared space that nonetheless witnesses the unfolding of individual lives, dreams, and constraints. It's a reminder that public spaces are stages where personal and societal dramas intertwine.