Collective Red 1998

Arsen Savadov made "Collective Red," and it's an image that really sticks with you. The deep red of the scene, almost like a monochrome painting, is striking, a complete immersion in color, and you know, color is never just color, it’s a feeling. The texture of the piece is so visceral: the smooth, reflective surface of the blood-covered floor contrasting with the rough, hanging carcass, and the matador's ornate costume. I keep thinking about that floor; its surface tension broken by the figures moving through the space. You can almost feel the stickiness, the heaviness of the air. It reminds me a little of Caravaggio, that sense of drama and theatricality, but with a contemporary twist. Both embrace a kind of hyper-realism that's almost surreal. Art is always a conversation, you know, building on what came before. It’s more about questions than answers.