Prometheanist 1924

José Clemente Orozco made this mural, Prometheanist, with fresco. There's a raw urgency in Orozco’s application of paint, and the limited palette makes the mural really stand out. It’s all about the process, the energy of creation, the sheer physicality of applying pigment to a surface. Look at that figure reaching down—see the way Orozco modeled it with the light, how he made it look almost like it’s about to fall out of the surface of the wall. It's like the subject is emerging from the very substance of the wall, a dance of material and meaning, that gives the artwork its power. I'm reminded of Philip Guston's work, especially his later paintings—that same commitment to raw emotional expression. Art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth across time, and I find myself drawn to the ambiguities, the questions, the lack of easy answers.