Hillary Study 

Editor: So this acrylic painting, called "Hillary Study" by Dave Macdowell, really grabs you. It’s… intense. The exaggerated features create a disturbing feeling, and the contrast between the Hillary figure and the Uncle Sam doll is striking. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the archetypal figures being deconstructed here. Caricature always holds power, right? It taps into shared cultural memory and anxiety. What feelings do the symbols, Hillary Clinton and Uncle Sam, evoke for you? Editor: Definitely unease. The exaggerated teeth and wild eyes on Hillary are unsettling. And the doll… it seems to represent a corrupted idea of American identity, maybe? Curator: Exactly. The artist is using potent, almost cartoonish, imagery to trigger our pre-existing associations. Those symbols, deployed as caricature, reveal subconscious fears about authority and national identity. Do you think the style of "pop-surrealism" amplifies that sense of unease? Editor: For sure! It takes the familiar and twists it into something bizarre and slightly nightmarish. Almost like a funhouse mirror reflecting back societal anxieties. Curator: And consider the crying doll. It references familiar images of childhood distress, but also potentially mourning for a lost national ideal. By connecting those cultural symbols of political power and national identity to feelings of fear and distortion, this study reveals complex layers of cultural tension. Editor: I hadn’t considered the doll as representing a lost ideal. It’s a lot more nuanced than I initially thought. Curator: These artists offer an invaluable opportunity to examine how shared cultural images take root, evolve and influence our social behavior and beliefs. The visual language employed reminds us to question those inherited, familiar beliefs. Editor: I see it now. I initially reacted to the shock value, but understanding the deeper symbolic language makes it much more impactful. Thanks!