Self-Portrait 1974

Curator: Right then, what an arresting image. A Sam Francis "Self-Portrait" from 1974, done as an etching in ink. Editor: Well, "arresting" is one word for it! It's… intense. Is that a grimace, a smile? It's got this awkward, almost pained, posture. Like a baby buddha after a hard day. Curator: The pose does echo a meditative stance. But the expressiveness of the face complicates that reading. Note the artist’s interest in Eastern philosophy which permeated a lot of West Coast art circles then, so it makes sense the iconographic blending. Editor: So he's sort of placing himself within this tradition, but also subverting it, right? He is intentionally not perfect! There's a vulnerability here. I feel seen, like that is truly, honestly, how I am feeling on most days on the inside. Curator: Francis struggled greatly with prolonged kidney issues throughout the year the etching was produced and onward, perhaps we are seeing the artist internalizing that bodily torment via an emotional vulnerability being placed on the work. Editor: Interesting… and it comes through so clearly in these lines. I like how raw the expression is, it looks deeply emotional. Look at how he draws attention to those hands in that posture...it makes me think, what if the peace that this portrait craves comes from external help, and maybe some sort of forgiveness from ones own shortcomings? It may need healing through physical therapy, maybe even medication. And that's where the shame stems from. Curator: Indeed. A more traditional, symmetrical representation of this figure would indicate transcendence, something to be sought and held above humanity's everyday, somewhat undignified struggle, and yet here is something else entirely. There's tension between those readings that I believe he is trying to capture in that expression, even perhaps the irony of needing so desperately and still finding reason to mock the position. Editor: Mmm, okay, yeah. It’s a potent thing… and so relatable, isn’t it? Holding both ideas. Okay, well, now I can’t unsee all that. That's some artistic exorcism, there. Curator: So to speak! The personal is, after all, intrinsically tied to the cultural— perhaps inextricably.