Abduction 2017

Curator: This compelling oil painting is titled "Abduction" and was created by Harmonia Rosales in 2017. The artwork strikes me immediately, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: It does. There's an immediate dynamism to the image, this dramatic figure riding what appears to be an eagle. I'm curious about this modern interpretation of such a classic mythological trope. Curator: Indeed. Rosales is directly engaging with the history of art. This reimagining pointedly recalls, and subverts, classical abduction scenes – think of, say, Ganymede and Zeus as an eagle. She powerfully inverts those dynamics. Editor: Absolutely. Traditionally, the abductee is often portrayed as passive, vulnerable. Here, the figure appears strong, almost defiant, her hand gripping that sheer, pink cloth, maybe symbolizing her resistance to these historical depictions of abduction. But does this change in character also reflect on the symbols associated with such figures? Is she re-casting the role, and maybe re-casting the intention, too? Curator: That's precisely it. We need to understand Rosales' practice. Her art consciously refigures classical and religious imagery to center Black women, reclaiming narratives from a Eurocentric, patriarchal perspective. Editor: That repositioning of a classic, charged scene... it’s powerful. The choice of an eagle immediately conjures ideas of American power. I have so many questions about why those two ideas are being bound together, if one is in reaction to the other, or maybe in dialogue? It is an evocative and striking union. Curator: The historical context adds even more weight. This was created during a period of intense political polarization. So you have a Black woman, usually absented from classical scenes and even contemporary images, riding this powerful eagle; that alone says a lot about how art confronts systems of power, past and present. Editor: I can't help but feel a complex tension when I see these recognizable elements put together this way. It invites introspection not just about the scene itself, but about the weight we give certain images and symbols to begin with, doesn't it? Curator: Precisely. And through this dynamic visual vocabulary, Rosales urges us to rethink how these symbols perpetuate or challenge existing social structures. That's the heart of this piece, and much of her artistic intervention, isn't it? Editor: It certainly seems to be, and one wonders what other established icons can bear reimagining, as well. Curator: The endless dance between past imagery and current social discourse. Rosales makes you see the old and the new in vibrant tension.