Group 1980

Editor: This is "Group" by Philip Guston. It's a black and white print and feels rather unsettling, like a gathering of hooded figures. What historical context might be informing such imagery? Curator: Guston's return to figuration in the late 60s was controversial. These figures, often interpreted as Klansmen, can be seen as a grappling with America's history of racial violence, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement. How do you see the cartoonish style playing into that? Editor: It's disturbing, making something so horrific almost banal. So, it's less about glorifying and more about confronting? Curator: Precisely. It implicates the viewer. Guston forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, complicity, and the normalization of evil in the American psyche. Editor: I hadn't considered the way the style itself becomes a critical tool. Curator: Art often challenges our perceptions, revealing uncomfortable truths.