Men Seldom Make Passes ... 1946

Curator: Allow me to introduce Minna Citron’s etching and print from 1946, titled "Men Seldom Make Passes…". Editor: Well, the title has already grabbed my attention, quite a sardonic wit there! My first impression? Angular, almost sculptural in its abstraction. The sienna tone also creates an interesting mood – it is both warm and distant. Curator: Let’s consider Citron’s process. As an artist, she moves beyond conventional high art, and etching is a democratized printing process in its own way. The lines themselves, aren’t they fascinating? How they work together to define the subject? The plate itself shows clear evidence of having been worked and re-worked, the image built up layer by layer, not from spontaneous expression but considered craft and careful planning. Editor: Yes, the etching marks feel quite intentional! But the symbol I find most captivating is the almost mask-like face and those round glasses. Are they obscuring, or clarifying something? The eyes, normally windows to the soul, are hidden, giving a sense of detached observation, very cool but also a little frightening. What about that title then - what message does Citron send with her acerbic quip lifted from Dorothy Parker? Curator: Let's not forget it was 'Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses'. With that allusion Citron comments directly on gender roles, intelligence, and beauty standards. Also note the choice of medium—printmaking as an inherently reproducible and distributed art form allowed her to disseminate a critical image widely, potentially reaching a large, varied, audience who could then join the social critique. Editor: It's also that combination of humor and melancholy. The composition—her pose, seemingly enthroned on that very strange chair – projects authority and yet also fragility. All the sitter's contours and sharp, edgy as if carved from stone and the overall impression lingers between strength and insecurity. I see the enduring power of these symbols to spark dialogue about beauty and brains to this very day. Curator: Indeed. By investigating Citron's methods, her specific choices of materials and process we discover how integral those were to achieving the broader critical effect, of interrogating the viewers' relationship to mass media representations, social ideals and artistic craft. Editor: A very intriguing dance between technical execution and symbolic depth indeed! Curator: Absolutely. "Men Seldom Make Passes..." it provides endless avenues to consider Citron’s place within and in opposition to her historical moment and social-material conditions.