Escape Plan 1958

Editor: So, this is Nicolas Carone's "Escape Plan," from 1958. It's oil on canvas. The more I look, the more I'm struck by how raw it feels, like you’re glimpsing a feeling rather than a place or a thing. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious abstraction? Curator: I see a symbolic landscape of the subconscious. Note the interplay of light and dark; the dark, central mass anchors the turmoil. That single dark shape -- does it strike you as something representational? Editor: Not really, though it almost suggests a figure struggling or being pulled down. Is that just me projecting? Curator: Not at all. Consider that line bisecting the upper left. It’s a fractured, perhaps broken, structure; a symbol of imposed order under duress? Think about post-war anxieties and the rise of abstract expressionism as a language for the unspeakable. The sparseness combined with dynamic, clashing elements speak to cultural fragmentation and psychological upheaval. Editor: So the "escape" isn't necessarily physical; it's more about escaping an internal state? Curator: Precisely. What does that single, unbroken horizon line running from bottom left towards center right signify? To me, it symbolizes something new breaking on the horizon -- possibility? Perhaps something still there which might allow one to envision escape. Editor: I see that now! I was so focused on the darkness I hadn't noticed how hopeful the lighter colors actually are. Curator: Yes, an important distinction. Look again. Do the symbols take on new forms of meaning? That is their enduring power. Editor: Absolutely. Thanks – I definitely see this painting with new eyes now. Curator: As do I. Seeing art with fresh eyes is a gift every time.