Untitled 2017

Curator: Robert Gober’s "Untitled" from 2017, crafted with pencil and colored pencil on paper, presents a landscape where the organic meets the geometric in unsettling ways. Editor: Well, right away, it makes me feel like I'm looking at someone’s fever dream about nature. It’s so delicate and ghostly. A minimalist forest, sketched in faint grays, then *BAM*, this almost cartoonish rectangle just stuck right in the middle. Curator: Indeed, that stark contrast invites exploration. We could examine the tree as a symbol that is often interpreted in terms of gendered binaries—growth, nature, nurture—against the artificial block of this aquamarine window or screen which presents barriers or imposed control. Editor: Or… hear me out… maybe it's just a really weirdly placed air conditioner? Jokes aside, I like what you said about the gendered reading of the trees, but maybe it speaks to broader human anxieties about taming the wilderness, you know? Building our little digital fortresses even within our sacred spaces. Curator: Absolutely, this tension permeates the composition. Gober consistently addresses social anxieties related to home, body, and identity. By framing it within a deceptively innocent landscape, he intensifies our awareness. Consider that landscapes, historically, haven’t been innocent—they have been contested and commodified. Editor: Right! It's like… you're supposed to feel at peace looking at this simple scene, but then your eye snags on that box, and suddenly the whole thing feels off-kilter. And there's a crude nature quality about the strokes which can remind a child’s drawing and speaks of lost innocence in regard to it, right? That odd balance makes your brain itch in the best way. Curator: That's where the genius lies. The seemingly straightforward image opens up layers of interpretation relating to both control and isolation within societal structures and gender constructions. Editor: Well, I walked in here thinking it looked like something scribbled during a boring meeting. I'm walking away thinking about the existential dread of being an online-age human. Good job, art! Curator: It speaks volumes when an image as spare as this offers such rich avenues for reflection and critique, and this, I believe, underscores its resonance within contemporary discourse.