Untitled 1954

Editor: This is an Untitled oil painting by Manoucher Yektai from 1954. I’m really struck by how thick the paint is – it looks almost sculptural! All that texture gives it such presence. What's your take on this, seeing it through an art historical lens? Curator: For me, this piece is fascinating in terms of the physical labor involved. Look at the impasto technique, the sheer volume of oil paint applied to the canvas. Yektai wasn't just representing something; he was building something. Consider also the context: abstract expressionism, a post-war movement where the act of painting itself, the artist's physical engagement with the materials, became the primary subject. What kind of work do you think that represents? Editor: So, you are thinking less about any hidden symbolism and more about the sheer physicality of the act, all that labor… almost performative, really! Do you think Yektai’s background as an Iranian immigrant in America might inform his work? Curator: Precisely! It prompts considerations of materiality – its availability, cost, and transformative power, that he chose oil, a medium so closely associated with Western painting traditions. He's manipulating it, challenging its conventional use by prioritizing its inherent qualities as a substance, building a bridge perhaps, between cultural identities, that is reflected in labor. The paint becomes almost like clay and the canvas like earth. How would the conversation around this art change if his piece employed discarded refuse like so many other immigrant artists working today? Editor: That's an interesting shift in perspective. By focusing on the “stuff” of art, it really moves it beyond just surface appreciation! It feels way more accessible. I didn't realize just how much the materials can shape the meaning. Curator: Indeed! Focusing on the materials encourages us to move beyond the art object itself to investigate its role in labor, in consumerism, and, finally, in culture.