Initiation 1949

Editor: So, here we have Leon Golub’s "Initiation," created in 1949 using charcoal. It feels…claustrophobic. There are so many figures packed into this tight space. What's your take on it? Curator: Claustrophobic is spot on! Golub, even early on, wasn’t afraid of discomfort. I see a dance between power and vulnerability. The mass of figures, rendered with that rough, almost violent charcoal, feel like they're simultaneously suffocating and supporting each other. Does it remind you of anything? Perhaps a mosh pit? Editor: Oh wow, yes, like a really intense one! Is that feeling of being overwhelmed what he was going for, do you think? Curator: Possibly! Remember the year, 1949. Post-war anxieties were ripe. He seems to be probing the dynamics of a group— the way identity blurs, the loss of self, maybe even a questioning of collective action itself. See how some figures are obscured, almost dissolving into the shadows? What does that suggest to you? Editor: Maybe that in a group, the individual loses importance? Or that belonging comes at the cost of individuality? It’s not a super happy initiation ceremony, that's for sure. Curator: Absolutely. There’s a rawness, an unease, which defines Golub's expressionist style, he makes you *feel* something… And makes you question what you're feeling. Ultimately I think its strength lies in the fact that there is not one answer! Editor: I love that – the unease as a strength. Thanks; I definitely see this piece differently now. Curator: Likewise. Golub would probably want us squirming a little, contemplating what binds us – or suffocates us.