4. Anxious People 1923

Editor: So, here's El Lissitzky's "Anxious People" from the Tate. The figures seem so geometric, and somehow, yes, anxious. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a legacy of symbolic forms. Look at the eye motifs—one with a triangle, another with a fish. The triangle often represents stability, perhaps a rigid societal structure. The fish? Ancient symbol of faith, but also vulnerability. Editor: So, anxiety as a clash between rigid structure and vulnerability? Curator: Precisely! Lissitzky presents cultural anxieties through the language of geometry and symbolic forms. What resonates with you most? Editor: How the simplest shapes can convey so much cultural meaning. Curator: Indeed, it's a powerful reminder of how images carry cultural memory.