Model Update 2017

Editor: This is Victo Ngai’s "Model Update," created in 2017. I find it really whimsical, with all those penny-farthing bicycles modified into fantastical vehicles. What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, I'm struck by the linework, isn't it? Notice how each delicate stroke builds a world teeming with unexpected objects. Look closer, and we see how the composition relies on these meticulously drawn lines, which generate a compelling tension between detailed areas and open spaces. Observe the palette as well: predominantly soft yellows and blues against a neutral field, creating both harmony and slight disharmony. What does that color story convey, would you say? Editor: I see a sunny but dreamlike atmosphere. All the unusual forms and vehicles could be something the artist imagined while daydreaming in a garden. I am curious about the placement of the tools in the foreground and their scale, like visual signifiers almost. Curator: An acute observation. Semiotically speaking, the foreground, dominated by tools and mechanical components, could signify a shift away from romantic notions of nature, towards human intervention and perhaps, deconstruction. I want to highlight the relationship of color and light, a sophisticated strategy used here to pull one’s eye around the composition through line weights. Editor: Now that you point it out, the repetition and the direction of lines certainly pull you into every area, especially up and around each of those wheels and vehicles. So, it is both spontaneous and deliberate. Curator: Precisely. This artwork shows that beauty can be created through the careful interplay of forms and how each structural piece conveys and amplifies specific visual themes. What do you take away from our chat? Editor: I will look more closely at line and the artist’s strategic placement of color. Thank you.