Carnival 1939

Curator: Harari’s 1939 print, Carnival, presents us with a modernist, almost pop-art infused vision of celebration. What strikes you initially? Editor: An organized riot of form, color and imagery! The geometric shapes suggest festivity but the abstracted human forms hint at something just beneath the surface. Is it joy, or a carefully constructed mask? Curator: The brilliance of this print, created on the eve of World War II, is its tension between merriment and unease. Harari’s influences ranged from Art Deco's streamlined forms to European modernism's abstraction, yet there is a distinct American voice present as well. The Great Depression certainly adds historical context to these competing feelings of freedom and entrapment. Editor: Looking closely, the symbols begin to coalesce into narratives. That Ferris wheel-like shape dotted with lights... the waving, claw-like appendages along the bottom edge… These seem to be recalling very primal aspects of community celebration across eras and geographies. And that little bird in the party hat seems very pointed somehow. Curator: Exactly, consider that birds in party hats and simplified faces have become politicized memes within online communities, and that we have moved through almost a century since Harari captured these iconic forms. Are these truly sites of joyous celebration? Is this “Carnival” a safe space for marginalized groups or a performative exercise? Editor: It seems the longer we engage, the more resonant Harari's Carnival becomes, its symbols acting as both mirror and lens. Its emotional and symbolic layers continue to fascinate. Curator: Indeed. Examining the socio-historical milieu through his visual language brings unexpected dimensions to his modernist print.