The Queen of Sheba 1992

Editor: Here we have Frederick Sommer’s "The Queen of Sheba," created in 1992 using mixed-media collage and print. It’s…striking. The composition is dense and the imagery is, well, intensely biological. There’s a dreamlike quality to it, but also something unsettling. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The initial impact, I agree, is arresting. Sommer constructs a symbolic landscape that marries the organic with the mythic. The Queen of Sheba, historically associated with wisdom and opulent journeys, becomes a figure embedded, or perhaps even composed of, dissected anatomical studies. Do you see the repetition of the eye motif, both as an anatomical illustration and perhaps as a knowing gaze? Editor: Yes, definitely. It’s hard to miss! Are you saying the "Queen" is not a portrait of a person, but an assemblage of perspectives, both literal and figurative? Curator: Precisely. Think about the tradition of anatomical illustration. Its initial purpose was clinical objectivity, yet Sommer repurposes these illustrations. They're imbued with subjectivity, with a dream logic that connects inner bodily landscapes with the external world, thus, memory and even societal evolution. The piece carries echoes of Surrealist collage, but also speaks to something deeper – our persistent effort to reconcile the rational with the mystical. How does that symbolic dissonance sit with you? Editor: That tension is what I find so compelling. It challenges my expectations. It’s not just beautiful or grotesque; it’s both. Curator: And in that contradiction lies its power. Sommer encourages us to confront our own inner workings, both literally and figuratively. Through the familiar symbolism, in his art we are beckoned into contemplation of hidden meaning. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way, but that really deepens my understanding of the work and I see all the multiple, potential readings within. Curator: Indeed, and perhaps that is where the art and alchemy converge, in the creation of gold from the most unlikely matter.