Self-Made 2019

Curator: Oh, wow, what a captivating tableau. It's got a sort of dreamlike quality, almost as if it's from a forgotten fairy tale. The composition is just so rich and slightly odd, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Rose Freymuth-Frazier created this intriguing image, an oil painting called "Self-Made" in 2019. Its title makes me think about its narrative content in relation to feminist dialogues around labor, production, and identity. Curator: "Self-Made," huh? Well, if that isn't loaded, I don't know what is! I can’t help but zoom in on her expression; it’s this perfect blend of concentration and nonchalance. She's creating something, but seemingly unbothered by, or maybe even defiant towards, any traditional expectation. What does that mean for our understanding of “Self-Made?” Editor: I'm interested in what she's creating versus what seems to surround her—like that darling kitty cat, heaps of coins, even a miniature doll figure—each a kind of symbol of domesticity, yet rendered uncanny, even suffocating. I want to push us to think of domestic labor as both essential and systemically undervalued. She is knitting in this scene, so is she producing something new, or mending something old? Curator: Absolutely, there’s something beautifully unsettling about that miniature doll. It almost suggests the pressure to conform to this ideal image, or to produce offspring? Meanwhile, she's got roses bursting from her dress like a force of nature, or maybe a personal garden. Maybe she is “making” something that goes beyond expectations! It feels intuitive. Editor: I think the work compels us to question the capitalist framing of value. Is she crafting a new vision of the self, one that defies narrow definitions and celebrates the complexities of women’s creative expression, and interior lives? Are those knitting needles actually challenging these pre-set expectations? Curator: Exactly. And with this playful touch! The butterflies, the kitty... it dances on the edge of the surreal, and, I think, embraces the ridiculous. We are “self-made” because of all this crazy context and mess around us. I like to think about that, and remember what truly matters. Editor: Ultimately, “Self-Made” reframes this conversation for the viewers by compelling them to confront and dismantle internalized norms. In this regard, Rose Freymuth-Frazier leaves us with a poignant exploration into self-determination.