Riled Roosters c. 1942

Curator: Here we have Bernard Joseph Steffen's "Riled Roosters" from around 1942. The medium looks like it's primarily a print, perhaps with dry media touches. Editor: Immediate impression? I find it unexpectedly…funny. There's this tense energy between them, but also something quite comical about their stiff poses. It's the brows, I think! Curator: Definitely, that caricature-like exaggeration contributes a lot. Consider the visual tension though; how their bodies seem almost intertwined, mirroring each other yet also poised for conflict. Editor: It's the averted gazes, too, isn't it? Classic standoff. The colors feel muted, which kinda throws you off, doesn't quite deliver the barnyard bravado you'd expect. Curator: That muted palette gives it a slightly unsettling quality, I feel. The artist is playing with our expectations of cockfighting, draining the expected vitality into something more subtly aggressive, internalised, maybe. Editor: And structurally, their bodies create this central vortex pulling you in, despite the restrained colours. How do you reckon the 'riles' is illustrated? Curator: Partly through the intense contrast, right? The artist emphasizes their comb and wattle to draw the viewers eyes. You could say this piece is an understated battle frozen in time, an exploration of inherent territorial instincts? Or am I going too deep into it now? Editor: No, no, not at all. It's this odd mix of aggression and restrained representation that fascinates. Maybe it's a comment on society through animal behavior. Curator: Could be! All I know is I'll never look at a chicken quite the same way again. Thanks, Steffen, for stirring things up a bit. Editor: Right? This piece clucks with understated intensity and those knowing rooster glares will have me thinking of tension in art—and the surprising humour it can unleash!