The Shooting Gallery VII 1940

Curator: At first glance, this pen and ink drawing evokes a desolate and vaguely threatening atmosphere. What's your immediate take on it? Editor: I find the composition immediately striking. It’s stark and surreal, with these looming rectangular blocks punctuated by what appear to be bullets scattered across the foreground. There’s a definite feeling of unease. Let me introduce “The Shooting Gallery VII” by Toyen, created in 1940. Curator: Right, 1940. That's crucial context. Toyen, a key figure in Czech Surrealism, was operating under the growing shadow of Nazi occupation. The imagery becomes almost unbearable when we look at it through that lens. Do you feel the imagery represents targeted demographics or types of violence? Editor: Absolutely. I see it as a commentary on the insidious nature of oppression, specifically the vulnerability of certain groups. The images embedded in each square – a masked figure, a disembodied hand, animalistic representations. I would say the targets here go beyond the mere literal, entering an intersectional discourse on otherness. This work transcends documentation of events to act as an act of defiance against any kind of constraint – of movement, action, thought. Curator: The bullets certainly reinforce the sense of violation. What about the composition—the use of the linear style to depict such a grim scenario? It's almost detached, clinical. It provides a glimpse into the political function of aesthetics: art, in that situation, assumes a therapeutic role to externalize thoughts and anxieties. Editor: Precisely. That tension between the delicate linework and the violence it portrays creates a powerful discordance. It reflects how social mechanisms normalize and codify practices that are inherently brutal. There's a deliberate flattening, almost an indifference that's profoundly unsettling. And of course, the title "Shooting Gallery" directly implicates the viewer – we're all implicated in systems of violence. Curator: The Surrealists often used unsettling imagery to critique societal norms. “The Shooting Gallery VII”, like much of Toyen's output, forces us to confront uncomfortable realities, but that is the job of a visionary artist to unveil society to itself. Editor: A crucial reminder of art’s capability as social commentary, especially in times of intense political and social disruption. I think reflecting on its social importance has offered invaluable understanding.