Composition 

Editor: Here we have "Composition", a mixed-media collage by Hedda Sterne. There’s a strange ethereal quality to this piece – a combination of surreal figures set against these swirling lines. What’s your take on this composition? Curator: Well, it's funny, isn't it? Like a dream trying to assemble itself from the remnants of magazines and memories. Sterne was deeply connected to the Surrealist movement, so there's this impulse to unearth the subconscious. The collage elements – the diver, that striking face – seem suspended, maybe even struggling within those swirling lines. What do those lines evoke for you? Editor: A sense of motion, I think, but also maybe confinement? Like they are trapped in some kind of vortex? Curator: Exactly! I read that too. Hedda wasn't afraid of tensions and maybe it symbolizes inner struggle as the modern woman who came to America. See how the textured arm extends to the swimmer as if trying to grab the falling person. How would you interpret this interaction? Editor: I feel a certain tension. Is that tension supposed to be resolved or is it about prolonging the imbalance? Curator: That is a gorgeous point. What’s so fascinating about Sterne’s work, and particularly here, is how she keeps us in that space of not-knowing. It's not about answers, it's about the questions the work evokes. We feel uneasy and at the same time captivated by the surreal quality. Editor: I see. The unease is very alluring here. It's unsettling and thought-provoking at the same time. Thanks for sharing that perspective. Curator: My pleasure. It reminds us that art isn’t always about comfortable conclusions, sometimes it's about wrestling with the unknown. And that's a beautiful thing, don’t you think?