Prone School girl 

Charles Blackman painted this enigmatic image of a "Prone Schoolgirl" with oils, a traditional medium, but he has used it in an intentionally awkward, unsettling way. The paint is applied thickly, almost crudely. There's little blending or finesse; the textures are flat, and the perspective is off-kilter. While Blackman engaged with the traditions of fine art, he appears to have purposefully undermined them. The subject matter is just as complicated as the technique. The anonymous girl is depicted in a vulnerable pose, a dark industrial background pressing down on her. It is possible to imagine the labor of the artist as he tried to capture a sense of alienation and loss. Blackman created a potent image by disrupting traditional artistic values and focusing on a child lost in a world of adults. This approach emphasizes the importance of materials, process, and social context.