Blind Tom 2010

Editor: This is Bo Bartlett's "Blind Tom," painted in 2010. It's a very striking portrait, isn’t it? The subject's gaze is intense, almost unsettling, and it draws you right in. What do you make of this work? Curator: It does seize your attention, doesn’t it? The tilted perspective and muted tones amplify the subject's upward gaze. Makes you wonder, what are they looking at, or perhaps longing for? I see a layered narrative here, a dialogue about perception, limitation, and maybe even transcendence. Do you think the title impacts your interpretation? Editor: Absolutely! Knowing it’s "Blind Tom" changes everything. Suddenly, the upward gaze feels less about seeing and more about sensing, about connecting with something beyond the visible world. Curator: Precisely. Bartlett isn't simply depicting blindness, I feel he's suggesting an alternate form of vision, perhaps a heightened awareness born from the absence of sight. The choice of "Tom" might be pointing to broader cultural conversations as well. The way Bartlett renders skin, that near-luminous quality, feels very intentional to me. Does the portrait make you feel at all uneasy? Editor: Just a little bit. There’s something ethereal and a bit ghostly about it, especially the eyes. But also a sense of dignity. Curator: I think you've nailed it. The tension between unease and dignity, the seen and unseen. Bartlett’s inviting us to question our assumptions about what it means to truly "see." The beauty is that painting holds the freedom to make all that a big, beautiful mystery, yeah? Editor: This has really opened my eyes—no pun intended—to the complexities of portraiture. It’s so much more than just a likeness. Curator: Exactly! And that, my friend, is the magic of art. Always more to discover!