Sirens 1947

Curator: At first glance, there's a visceral sense of unease emanating from this composition; a flurry of chaotic, suggestive lines in this ink drawing seems almost like the underbelly of some submerged nightmare. Editor: And what a nightmare it is. We're looking at "Sirens," a work created in 1947 by Andre Masson. It exemplifies his engagement with Surrealism, crafted simply with ink on paper, now residing at the Tate Modern in London. Curator: Sirens, as mythological beings, represent a danger and allure, and I see it. These figures, seemingly caught mid-transformation between women and birdlike creatures, stir up primordial anxieties and yearnings, the ink's very fluidity mirroring the ocean's deceptive surface. There's an ambiguity here—a psychological depth charge of temptation. Editor: It's remarkable how such simple materials--ink and paper--can convey such psychological weight. You sense the hand of the artist, almost thrashing as it races to get an idea on paper. There is so much erasure as part of the work! Each scumbled or nervous line tells you something of that tension and frenzy. Think, also, about access to materials after the war in Europe--ink would have been easier to obtain than paint. Masson may have had to re-examine the importance of the process. Curator: I agree; the immediacy lends itself to that frantic, uncensored quality often linked with Surrealism and automatic drawing. What stands out to me is Masson's revisiting of very old narratives, and reminding us that at their core is something about desire, threat, and the eternal push and pull between them. And isn't that something that touches us across generations? Editor: Absolutely. The relative ease of production contrasts starkly with the layers of myth that the subject dredges up. He pulls so much history into a relatively un-labored medium. It also calls attention to our own desire to see something whole, complete--maybe we want these monstrous sirens to simply be 'pretty girls'. Curator: An insightful point! By capturing that interplay between desire, anxiety, and artistic expression so succinctly, Masson provides us with a lens into the ongoing evolution of human desire. Editor: The way an artist uses a line or scumble, can offer an almost primal release to artist and viewer alike. It reveals art as a process of making-as-thinking, blurring the line between artistic intention and historical context.