Cyclops 1967

Curator: Ozdemir Atlan created this mixed-media drawing, entitled "Cyclops", in 1967. Editor: My first impression is controlled chaos, which, I guess, describes a cyclops's inner life pretty well! The geometric patterns, like cogs in a strange machine, all pulsing red and black… It’s hypnotic and unnerving at the same time. Curator: I think Atlan is reflecting anxieties of the period, a kind of cold-war dread, which is cleverly cloaked as abstraction. The Cyclops myth is tied up in the hubris of man against the forces of nature, of course, so the use of this mythical figure provides a neat conceptual lens through which we can process fears relating to man's destructive capabilities. Editor: Right, a beautiful monster! And the layered lines, creating depth where there really shouldn't be any, reminds me how fragile any system truly is. One wrong move and those interlocking cogs fall apart. I keep getting pulled into the center and then pushed back out by the sheer energy of it all. Curator: Well, the centrality of the ‘eye,’ in both form and idea, can hardly be ignored. But rather than seeing a clear vision, we are presented with obfuscation and an intricate mess of lines that makes finding true insight almost impossible. You mentioned ‘energy,’ and it strikes me that Atlan seems less concerned with a single narrative and more with capturing the overwhelming noise and frenzy of modernity. Editor: Maybe it's my love for monsters in general, but there is something almost affectionate here too. A certain joy in the complexity and imperfection. Like celebrating the magnificent messiness of consciousness itself. We are all just giant messy geometric shapes struggling in a red-stained existence, haha! Curator: (laughing slightly) Indeed, a unique perspective. Atlan definitely captured a feeling of chaotic creation here. It seems he intended a certain discomfort, prompting the viewer to confront what is both aesthetically and philosophically challenging. Editor: Absolutely! It really grabs you, pulls you in, and messes with your head… Like a good cyclops should.