Untitled (Christmas Card) 

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to Adja Yunkers’ "Untitled (Christmas Card)". It's a compelling abstract print, created using woodcut techniques. Editor: Immediately, the dominating dark blue figure against the stark white backdrop lends the work a somber, almost contemplative mood. Curator: Given its nature as a potential Christmas card, do you find this tonality somewhat contradictory, considering the traditional associations of Christmas with jubilation? I wonder if the stark abstraction of form and the minimalist palette point toward the post-war period's shifting emotional landscape and perhaps a more muted festive experience. Editor: It’s quite striking how Yunkers employed such simplified geometric shapes and a limited colour palette to create an image that hints at figuration. The interplay between the curving, organic forms within the central image is balanced, almost caged, by the structure and line. I want to consider how structuralism affects interpretation. Curator: Absolutely. By the time he produced this card, Yunkers had already developed a strong, abstract expressionist style rooted in social awareness and the immigrant experience of displacement and reconstruction. The choice of geometric elements might echo urban architectures or a fracturing of traditions. It speaks to larger questions of belonging and redefining identity amidst uprootedness. What are your thoughts? Editor: The stark contrasts definitely contribute to the artwork’s graphic punch. Semiotics is unavoidable here; consider the relationship between the signifier—the physical mark made by the woodcut—and the signified. Curator: Agreed. Its formal simplicity belies a deeper conversation about the reconstruction of identity within shifting social environments. This ‘Christmas card’ is so far removed from commercial festivity as to offer instead a reflection of hope. Editor: Very well, I think this careful look helps reveal some subtle, beautiful aspects, and it definitely departs from simple seasonal well-wishing.