Girl with Ice Cream Cone 1963

Curator: Wow, this piece—Wayne Thiebaud's "Girl with Ice Cream Cone," painted in 1963—hits you right in the face, doesn’t it? I mean, look at that scale, that stare! Editor: The vast blankness around her! It's like she’s radiating…loneliness? Or is it self-containment? That direct gaze is a bit unsettling, holding the melting ice cream—time ticking. The pose seems contrived but she is relaxed? I’m having trouble reconciling the two notions here. Curator: Yeah, Thiebaud does that a lot, I think. He plays with hyperrealism and then sabotages it just a bit with that flat background and somewhat forced feeling. The high key lighting sort of washes the color out, doesn’t it? What's going on with that cone though? Is that strawberry or some kind of bubble gum flavor? Editor: Both are significant; I think. The girl is adorned with an overtly retro swimwear— the type donned for public appeal, during beach tourism boom. She is a symbol, not entirely of herself, but an icon of collective summer vacations gone-by, holding a shared cultural artifact of youth and playful leisure: an ice cream cone! Strawberry, as a hue, symbolizes romance while the bubblegum, youth and purity—combined, this cone becomes a poignant visual signifier. Curator: I’d say there’s an ambiguity there. I suppose that mix of slightly synthetic colors fits the Pop Art aesthetic he’s associated with—blurring the lines of high and low art, commercial and personal. Do you see any melancholy at play or do you think this is a nostalgic take? Editor: A bit of both, no? This painting reflects a specific cultural moment, frozen in time by the art, or is it thawing…like the cone melting? I imagine for some, there is pure, immediate sweetness, but the sharp directness in her gaze suggests deeper resonance. Like she's privy to all things fleeting—love, innocence and the sweet relief in summer vacations gone-by. Curator: Maybe that melting ice cream is time passing—that bittersweetness we were mentioning! Thanks, I like your reading of it! Editor: Thanks—it’s interesting how familiar symbols always offer us space to reflect anew.