Root Dance 1952

Editor: We're looking at Endre Balint’s "Root Dance," created in 1952 using colored pencils. The composition and color choices create a really striking, almost primal atmosphere. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Oh, primal is the perfect word! It reminds me of shadows flickering on a cave wall, ancient rituals trying to connect us to the earth. The emerald green background is like fertile soil, right? The two figures feel like spirits – one firmly planted, almost mushroom-like, and the other more… acrobatic, reaching skyward. It's as if they’re enacting some age-old, wordless story. Editor: An ancient story - interesting. I almost see the one on the right as collapsing, or struggling more than acrobatic. It also appears less defined somehow. Curator: Perhaps struggling against the earth’s pull? It’s more gestural, you're right, less… grounded than the first figure. Perhaps that figure represents an established, accepted way of being, and the other is pushing boundaries, seeking something new? And the moon! That incomplete crescent speaks to me about journeys and transformation. Balint worked during a period of immense political turmoil in Hungary. Perhaps this is less a depiction of ritual and more an exploration of humanity during change, and an expression of what has come to be called, existentialism. Editor: That's a compelling point. Looking at it again, there is an intense inner feeling, a silent anxiety within the drawing. The earthy colors do make me think of searching through the darkness. Curator: Yes, the earthy colours almost whisper to the subconscious, and maybe help unlock feelings trapped in our bodies, that otherwise have no escape. Maybe art's truest dance, here. Editor: I appreciate your perspective. I had been so focused on just describing the art, that I needed to connect its symbolism with deeper thoughts, so it becomes meaningful. Curator: That's the best thing about art. Every viewing reveals another hidden piece of yourself to you, to enjoy... like another day under the sun.