Head on a Plate 3 2012

Editor: Here we have Arlene Shechet's small porcelain "Head on a Plate 3." The indigo center stain feels almost violent against the pristine white plate. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It evokes ritual, doesn't it? This could be read as a critique of societal consumption, or even a feminist statement about the objectification of women. Is it a head, or a stain? Editor: That's a very different way of looking at it. I saw the indigo mark as an unsettling focal point, but didn't relate it to larger narratives. Curator: Consider the history of porcelain, its association with wealth and power. This defacement challenges those hierarchies. What do you think? Editor: I hadn't considered the class implications before, but I see how it complicates the reading of the work. Thanks! Curator: It is important to remember that art objects are never neutral.