Bloom painting #1

Editor: Here we have "Bloom," or "painting #1," by Troy Brooks, realized in acrylic paint. The figure has this dreamy, almost unreal quality, with those prominent pinks… What catches your eye in this work? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the relationship between the artificial and the organic. Brooks presents this figure adorned in what appear to be industrially produced elements—the plastic-like glasses, the doll-like skin tone—juxtaposed with natural elements like roses and cherry blossoms. Editor: I see what you mean. The glasses almost feel like a manufactured gaze. Curator: Precisely. Consider the labor involved in producing each element. Acrylic paint, a product of industrial chemistry, allows for a certain hyperrealism. And the cherry blossoms... they appear transient, yet Brooks fixes them in this potentially eternal tableau. What is the artist suggesting about manufactured beauty versus organic growth? About who has access to these means of expression and who dictates its production? Editor: So, the choice of materials itself is a statement about our consumption-driven culture and how we see beauty? Curator: Absolutely. And it asks questions about how that manufactured beauty affects the individual, especially when framed within traditional art forms such as the portrait. Editor: That’s fascinating! I hadn't thought about the acrylics as being part of the message itself, just the way to convey it. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: My pleasure! The piece prompts us to reconsider the inherent values we assign to different processes and materials.