Trees III 1992

Editor: Joan Mitchell's "Trees III" presents these stark vertical forms. I'm struck by the contrast between the solidity of the black and the ethereal quality of the yellow. What do you make of this imagery? Curator: Aren't those bold, black strokes reminiscent of ancient standing stones, markers of memory and ritual? And that yellow, could it be a symbol of enlightenment, or perhaps decay? Do you see the cultural weight of those visual symbols? Editor: I hadn't considered them as standing stones, but now I see how the painting evokes a sense of time and place, almost like a memory being unearthed. Curator: Exactly. Mitchell seems to be tapping into a primal connection with the earth, reminding us of our own symbolic relationships with the landscape. Editor: That's a really interesting way of looking at it, seeing the landscape as a cultural and psychological space. Curator: Indeed. Now, do you see it as a landscape, or something else entirely? The answer, as always, is up to you!