Two Figures 1961

Editor: This is "Two Figures," a 1961 charcoal drawing by Benton Spruance. I'm immediately struck by the ambiguous space they occupy – almost dreamlike. What's your read on this piece? Curator: It feels like peering into the subconscious, doesn't it? The figures are adrift, perhaps even echoes of each other. Spruance was deeply interested in exploring human vulnerability and the fragility of existence, and that's what comes through for me. What do you make of their postures? Editor: They seem very relaxed, almost like they're floating or perhaps sleeping. There's definitely a sense of quietude, even acceptance, in their repose. Curator: Exactly. It's as if they have surrendered to whatever force carries them. Notice, too, how Spruance uses the charcoal – the swirling, almost violent strokes around their bodies contrast so sharply with their serenity. It makes you wonder what storms rage beneath the surface. Or above, depending on how you interpret them floating. Editor: I hadn't thought about the violence of the charcoal in that way. Now that you mention it, it does create this tension, this push-pull between chaos and calm. Curator: It’s that tension, that dance between opposing forces, which makes Spruance's work so captivating. The quietude fools you until you stare for more than five seconds and realise it's actually shouting. The medium almost becomes a metaphor for the internal struggles we all carry. Are they figures embracing peace or succumbing to something else entirely? That's the beauty; Spruance doesn't tell us. Editor: This has completely changed my perspective. It is far more unsettling, and honestly, intriguing than I initially thought! Curator: And isn't that what art is all about? Changing our perspective, making us see the world, and ourselves, in a slightly different light.