Paper Ships 2021

Joshua Flint painted "Paper Ships," a dreamlike image, using oil on canvas. It presents a peculiar juxtaposition of an interior scene with a desolate landscape. The presence of the tent with red and white patterns, the opulent bed frame, and the women emerging from the turquoise pool create a theatrical stage that seems to be set against a mountainous background, a burning field and decaying architecture. This could be read as a comment on the concept of the "natural" versus the "artificial." Perhaps the artist is suggesting that these categories are neither stable nor self-evident. As a historian, my job is to examine what sources might inform this painting. Is the artist making a statement about social class? Is he critiquing the institutions of art? These are questions that require us to delve into the cultural context in which the artist was working, and the wider social and cultural debates of our time.