The Warrior 2014

Curator: "The Warrior" by Joseph Pace, a mixed-media sculpture created in 2014, certainly makes a bold statement, doesn't it? Editor: It does. My first impression is one of baroque excess. It feels heavily ornamented, almost burdened by its own embellishments. There’s something inherently unsettling about the facelessness. Curator: Unsettling, perhaps, but I see it as evocative. The profusion of materials—beads, coins, what appears to be watch parts— functions as an intriguing commentary on value and protection. This is not a warrior of brute strength but one adorned, perhaps even defined, by what he carries. Editor: That's interesting. To me, the choice of materials—particularly what seem like discarded objects—reads more like a critique of consumerism. Is this warrior being protected, or is he weighed down by the trappings of a materialist culture? Consider the political context—post-recession anxiety, perhaps? Curator: I see a layering of symbols – not just consumerism, but history itself. Each coin, each bead, potentially a fragment of a lost narrative contributing to the larger story of resilience. The warrior as a cultural archive. Editor: It’s true that assemblage allows an artwork to physically embody history. But there's a tension here – is the artwork monumentalizing the idea of the warrior or is it stripping away the conventional ideas surrounding what power and protection even means? Is it truly celebratory or an ironic commentary? Curator: Irony, maybe, is inseparable from veneration in our postmodern moment. To your point, it absolutely prompts reflections on shifting ideals surrounding strength and defence in an ever-changing political landscape. The open-ended symbolism certainly suggests layers of psychological projection too, don't you think? Editor: Undoubtedly, the ambiguity invites the viewer to question their own assumptions. All this from something so ostensibly decorative. Curator: Right? So much can be said of a piece so quiet and yet so incredibly adorned. Thanks for untangling a few of those knots with me! Editor: My pleasure. It's always illuminating to consider the conversation an artwork sparks in the here and now.