Song Of Journey 2019

Curator: Welcome! Before us is "Song Of Journey" by Michael Cheval, created in 2019 using oil paint. What strikes you about this surrealist scene? Editor: It’s dreamy, isn't it? The palette is quite soft, yet the unexpected scale of the anchor repurposed as a harp… It’s unsettling and comforting at once. Curator: Yes, there is an undeniable tension. Consider how Cheval manipulates our expectations of scale and material. He transforms a massive iron anchor, typically associated with industry and labor, into a delicate musical instrument. What does that suggest about the human impulse to transform the functional into something more? Editor: It reminds me of feminist artists reclaiming traditionally 'feminine' crafts, like knitting, to make powerful social and political statements. Is Cheval commenting on the intersection of labor and leisure? Is the woman performing music representing a societal class or a gendered expectation? The repurposing of something industrial, and therefore ‘masculine,’ opens some thought provoking doors to explore through intersectional theory. Curator: Indeed. Think about the craftmanship involved in building an anchor versus crafting music, then juxtapose these traditionally gendered notions of ‘high’ art against utilitarian objects. He elevates manual labor and the making of musical instruments and anchors to high art by bringing them into the space of painting. Editor: And let's consider the implications of setting this scene on a beach, a liminal space between land and sea. How does that choice influence our reading of the woman’s performance and her role in this journey? Is she welcoming ships in from a journey or perhaps signaling those who were lost at sea? What journey is being performed in "Song of Journey?" Curator: The setting amplifies the dialogue between nature and industrial process. What kind of preparatory work would go into rendering this dream world using gouache and oils? And it has a very dreamlike texture when viewed in person. The surface and layers show. I love seeing what is behind the image in front. Editor: Right. Cheval’s process seems integral to its meaning and challenges us to re-evaluate the narratives and hierarchies that art can uphold or deconstruct. There is much to unearth when you delve into the story this process shares. Curator: It pushes the boundaries of our perception and, at the very least, highlights the labor that art-making necessitates! Editor: I concur. Its visual language speaks volumes about societal structures of race, gender, and socioeconomic expectations. And maybe, it helps create new ones as it speaks into the present and the future.