Elephant Family 

Editor: This is "Elephant Family" by LeRoy Neiman, an acrylic painting. It is alive with color! I am fascinated by its textures but how would you go about interpreting such an evocative piece? Curator: The most salient features, I believe, reside in the vibrant color palette and dynamic brushstrokes. Notice how the artist uses seemingly arbitrary hues – pinks, blues, oranges – to construct the elephants' forms. The relationship between these colors, their juxtapositions, create a palpable sense of energy. How do these colours engage you? Editor: They give an emotional immediacy. It feels like Neiman is less interested in a true likeness, and more in capturing their vitality. It’s definitely expressionistic. Curator: Precisely! Note also the varying thickness of the paint, the impasto technique evident in certain areas, particularly around the elephant's tusks. This textural variation contributes to the overall visual interest and reinforces the sense of movement. One is forced to assess the purely formal relationship of the paint and color rather than getting hung up on representation. Editor: So, it's the 'how' not the 'what' that's key? Curator: To a great extent, yes. Though a work does not exist in a vacuum. Consider also how the composition, the arrangement of forms within the picture plane, creates a visual hierarchy. Do you think it successful, as such? Editor: I agree! Thinking about the color and brushwork shifts my focus from 'elephants' to this beautiful exploration of movement and form through acrylics. I wouldn't have seen that without thinking about the composition first! Curator: Precisely the intent. We moved past representation to consider what those elephants were really *made of*, and perhaps get closer to the core being of those forms by deconstructing them into formal components.