Petroglyph 1935 - 1942

Curator: Lala Eve Rivol's "Petroglyph," created between 1935 and 1942, immediately strikes me with its stark geometric arrangement. The interplay of positive and negative space is particularly compelling. Editor: It has such an archaic feel, doesn't it? All those animals rendered in simple lines and shapes. They call to mind stories from a distant, perhaps forgotten, past. Curator: Exactly. The use of line is deliberate, almost economical. Rivol segments the paper into these contained panels, each presenting unique formal relationships of figure to ground. Consider the texture; it adds depth to an otherwise flattened composition. Editor: It’s fascinating how she appropriates Indigenous visual language. Notice the consistent depiction of animal figures – goats, rams, various other creatures I can't readily identify – suggesting an animistic worldview. There's something incredibly primal in this imagery. Curator: Primacy is achieved, in part, by reducing the representational form to its most elemental parts. Abstraction allows Rivol to emphasize form over specific referential meaning, the composition guides the viewing. The work oscillates between narrative art and abstraction, doesn't it? Editor: Indeed. Even if the specific stories are lost to time, the very presence of these creatures tells us something essential about how humans have related to the natural world and maybe also an implied symbolic system used in past civilizations. Look at the humanoid figures – are they dancers, hunters, spirits? They seem frozen mid-motion, acting out some symbolic gesture. Curator: Regardless of specific narrative intent, Rivol creates a compelling study in contrasting forms. Each block contains discrete compositional challenges, exploring balances within severe spatial limits. Editor: Rivol offers a powerful meditation on memory, culture, and the enduring power of symbolic language. Curator: And from a purely formalist point of view, a very strong essay on the visual possibilities inherent within tight constraints.