Untitled. Winter Album 2016

Curator: This is a drawing entitled "Untitled. Winter Album," created in 2016, part of the "Kinder Album" series. The medium is watercolor and drawing. Editor: Whoa, a whimsical snowscape! It feels both playful and... slightly unsettling, like a dream you can’t quite shake off. All these little gnomes having a blast on what appears to be the contours of a woman's body rendered in subtle blues and whites. Is that, like, an erotic wonderland? Curator: It's interesting you pick up on the unsettling aspect. Consider the broader narratives around erotic art and the male gaze. The positioning of the gnomes across the female form raises questions about objectification and power dynamics, particularly when contextualized with socio-political dynamics related to the historical objectification of the female form. Editor: Gnomes and gender politics, I like where we're going! On the surface, it's absurd, which kinda softens the commentary. I can almost hear the faint echoes of giggling. Curator: Absurdity can certainly function as a tool for social critique. The artist could be using humor to highlight the ridiculousness inherent in certain societal views. This reminds me of theories that suggest laughter, such as Bergson’s laughter as a corrective social function, when humor is pointed directly at objectifying tropes to deflate their power. Editor: Exactly! The gnomes almost feel parasitic, in a funny way, not sinister, just... there. Curator: We can consider the history of fairytales as a didactic tool, as cautionary tales of patriarchal values. But consider also the visual language of children’s books. Editor: Well, if that’s right, I just have to say that some books for children feel oddly adult-themed, so maybe it does hint toward something uncomfortable… Anyway, I think it’s really creative as well. Curator: It really challenges us to examine our own assumptions and complicities. Editor: I agree. All in all, it is as refreshing as a snow shower on a summer afternoon. It might look simple on the surface, but this piece goes way beyond simple.