Gunship + Lynched Victims Bomb Tree 1967

Curator: Let's turn our attention to Nancy Spero's chilling work, "Gunship + Lynched Victims Bomb Tree," created in 1967. The artist uses mixed media, including drawing and pastel, to depict a brutal scene. What are your immediate reactions? Editor: It's unsettling. The composition is skeletal, almost spectral. You have these ghostly, ruddy figures suspended beneath what appears to be a warplane or some kind of cruciform structure. The overall impression is of immense fragility coupled with violence. I find the sparseness quite disturbing, actually. Curator: Indeed, the sparseness heightens the impact. The hanging figures clearly evoke images of lynching. Note how the artist merges contemporary war machinery with the historical horror of racial violence in America, pointing to the cyclical nature of systemic violence. Editor: Exactly. I'm drawn to how Spero uses seemingly delicate materials – pastel, paper – to portray such a harsh reality. It underscores the vulnerability of the victims. Was she always working with such…raw subjects? And why this technique? Curator: Spero consistently engaged with themes of power, war, and gender. She wanted to make visible what is often hidden. By incorporating these specific artistic decisions and the reference to the ‘Bomb Tree’ the image then conjures something primitive and terrible. As if violence has been gestating long before current political conflict. Editor: It becomes an uncomfortable link between historical and contemporary oppressions, then. What are your thoughts on that cross formation over the whole ghastly scene? The material is intriguing as it cuts across, sort of sealing, even containing the terror below… Curator: Yes, some see this as Spero representing technology gone rogue; military power and industry facilitating violence…The cross-shape might symbolise sacrifice or death, adding layers of interpretation about whose life is given value and who is rendered expendable by destructive powers. The 'tree' of terror now weaponized as an unholy tool. Editor: A grim but pertinent reading. This is a deeply affecting piece, showcasing the power of materiality combined with strong cultural and artistic imagery. Curator: A necessary piece, yes, it really lays bare cycles of inhumanity using cultural references that are, to this day, devastating.