Family Secrets 2006

Curator: So, tell me what grabs your attention with Kerry O. Furlani's relief sculpture, "Family Secrets" from 2006? It's quite something to see the human form rendered in stone. Editor: Absolutely. The material, this carved stone, really strikes me. It’s so… solid, unyielding, but the figure itself seems almost fragile. How does the choice of material speak to the ideas presented in the piece? Curator: Well, thinking materialistically, consider the labor involved in carving stone versus, say, molding clay. Stone, traditionally a ‘masculine’ material demanding force, is here used to depict a vulnerable, seemingly introspective figure. Furlani challenges the conventional association of the medium with monumental, often patriarchal themes, reframing it through personal narrative. It suggests an intense pressure to conceal "family secrets," wouldn’t you say? Editor: Yes, that's insightful. So the labor itself becomes part of the meaning – the effort to carve away at something hard to reveal a delicate interior? The "secrets" aren't just a theme but are literally embedded *in* the materiality. Curator: Precisely! It transcends simply being about "family secrets"; the very process and weight of material signifies the social weight imposed by familial expectation and unspoken histories. It elevates 'craft' to high art. Do you notice how the texture also works to both reveal and conceal the image? Editor: It’s fascinating how the rough, unpolished background throws the smoothness of the figure into such sharp contrast, highlighting its form and suggesting a narrative of secrets revealed through painstaking work. It is almost as if Furlani wants to suggest that even the roughest aspects can yield insights. I didn't notice that at first. Curator: And isn’t that, ultimately, the power of considering art through a materialist lens? We begin to question the established values ascribed to artistic mediums and examine their significance in reflecting on societal labor. Editor: Definitely, it opens up the piece to a whole new layer of meaning and prompts a closer look at the artistic process.