My Mona Lisa 1972

Editor: Here we have Ivan Generalic's "My Mona Lisa," painted in 1972 using acrylic on canvas. I'm struck by how bizarrely endearing it is, this bird… thing. It's almost dreamlike. What's your take on this fantastical creature? Curator: Oh, isn't it peculiar and wonderful? To me, it whispers of folk tales and childhood fables, of animals that speak and the strange logic of dreams. It reminds me of a question I once pondered for a week: If birds designed their own Mona Lisa, wouldn't it be something like this? Look at how he playfully mashes up portraiture with the simplicity of Naive Art, and swirls in Neo-Expressionist bravado. It's both crude and masterful! Doesn’t the almost cartoonish face juxtapose comically with that almost regal white plumage? Editor: Absolutely! The stark contrast between the meticulous rendering of the feathers and the almost childlike face is so striking! But why "My Mona Lisa"? What connection do you think Generalic was trying to make? Curator: Ah, there’s the delightful puzzle! Perhaps he's playfully subverting our expectations, challenging the very idea of beauty and perfection. Or maybe… and this is just me riffing here… he saw something of the eternal feminine, that subtle knowing glance, even in the face of… well, a fancy chicken. Art's magic lies in holding up a mirror, distorted or otherwise. Do you feel it challenges the classical definition of beauty at all? Editor: It definitely shakes things up. I mean, the Mona Lisa is all about refined beauty, and this is… wonderfully weird! But I see what you mean about challenging expectations. Curator: Exactly! The genius of it. It prompts me to loosen my mental grip and embrace the eccentric. Maybe art isn’t about the finished product, but that space for a personal interpretation. Thanks for making me stop and linger with this one today, its special quality is that it manages to make my curiosity sprout.