The Ugly Duckling 

Curator: Right, so we’re looking at a painting called "The Ugly Duckling" by Scott Gustafson. It's an enchanting piece done in a blend of what looks like watercolor, acrylic paint, and gouache, presenting a tableau straight out of a fairytale. What are your first thoughts? Editor: Gosh, it's... congested. A visual scrum. All those fowl vying for attention. It feels like a commentary on community, but a somewhat anxious one, if you catch my drift. All that preening... Curator: Congested, yes! A beautifully orchestrated kind of congested. The composition seems very self-aware. All eyes, or rather, beaks, are directed at our protagonist, creating this powerful narrative focus. It makes me think about how easy it is to feel like the odd one out. That collective scrutiny. Editor: Exactly! And the farmyard here feels more like a stage. It brings up questions around performativity, of ‘fitting in.’ Think about queer theory here for a second. Consider that little duckling’s journey as an allegory of negotiating gender, identity, expectations... being othered. Curator: Hmm, it's certainly more complex than your average kiddie-lit illustration. I mean, there’s such precision and richness in detail. I bet he had a blast painting the textures, you know? The feathered surfaces and stone backdrop... You just wanna reach out and touch ‘em! I think that element grounds it and creates the possibility of empathy for the viewer. It feels somehow connected to memory... perhaps, a moment that touches my inner child. Editor: That texture brings the social commentary to life. You see, I view the barnyard setting itself, rendered so palpably, as representative of societal structure—a structure that, from a critical race perspective, actively perpetuates hierarchies. Curator: That makes me see all those eyes, and those chicks gathered around the little duckling, with a darker reading. Maybe this piece actually shows an environment of bullying and peer pressure… not as idyllic as it might seem. I'm finding that a bit heartbreaking. Editor: Right? It reflects real-world power dynamics in a way that can’t be ignored, I think. I feel the artist might be commenting on societal complicity…How easily people look away from others' distress. The bird’s-eye view—or, rather, poultry’s eye view—highlights a need for social critique and transformative justice, to cultivate belonging and resist what bell hooks terms "imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy." Curator: Well, I certainly won’t be looking at ducks in the same way. Food for thought, that’s for sure! Editor: Agreed. This artwork demands introspection on so many different levels. Thanks for walking through that with me.