The Red Sun 1975

Curator: What strikes me first about Josef Herman’s "The Red Sun" is its stark, almost elemental quality. Editor: Indeed. The figures rendered in such bold, dark outlines give the piece a sense of timelessness, as if pulled from some ancient myth. It reminds me of pictograms on cave walls. Curator: The use of primary colors – the deep red of the sun and ground, the intense blue of the sea – amplifies that feeling. Red, of course, often signals life, energy, but also danger, particularly coupled with that looming sun. Editor: Right, the working figures seem trapped by the fiery sun; is this a symbolic representation of societal structures? Or perhaps a labor dispute commentary? Curator: That may be too literal, this composition feels more focused on the universal; the endurance of humankind within a harsh landscape, perhaps. The sun itself acts as a potent symbol of cyclical existence and unrelenting pressure. Editor: A landscape born of social struggle, perhaps? One way or another, Herman leaves us with much to consider beyond just the visual harmony of the piece.