She's Coming Out of His 3rd Eye 2017

Curator: David Michael Hinnebusch's mixed-media painting, "She's Coming Out of His 3rd Eye," completed in 2017, really grabs your attention. What do you think when you first look at it? Editor: My immediate reaction is a sense of fractured identity. The overlapping figures and chaotic layering of paint feel like a visual representation of the complexities within the self. It feels raw, almost primal. Curator: Indeed. Hinnebusch has merged contemporary abstraction and figuration, referencing what some may even regard as graffiti or pop art tendencies with those visible brushstrokes. Considering that museums and galleries tend to dictate popular notions about value within fine art, does this piece expand or subvert institutional notions of art, do you think? Editor: It feels inherently rebellious. By refusing a singular, legible image, the piece confronts established ideals surrounding portraiture and beauty. I wonder if it aims to dismantle patriarchal perspectives, using that surreal, almost hallucinatory scene to convey a challenge to conventional interpretations of female representation. Curator: I can see that. The third eye motif definitely ties into themes that you are referencing. Are there philosophical lineages that may be traced in this work? I am specifically interested to know if there is something that you can locate that directly informs an idea of selfhood. Editor: There is definitely the echo of thinkers like Foucault or Deleuze. These are perspectives in which identity isn't fixed but perpetually in formation. Hinnebusch's work uses acrylic-based pigment as a medium to make visible a concept of continual, fluxing transformations. This all seems to disrupt monolithic or homogenous cultural narratives. Curator: Looking more closely, those are the same things I can't help but notice, from its expressionistic intensity and bright pigments, this feels almost like the viewer gets pulled into this visual spectacle. What would you want a visitor to walk away with when experiencing this painting? Editor: I hope they leave questioning how dominant social structures inform their understanding of identity. Hopefully, they will examine and consider our subjective perceptions in context. Curator: Beautifully said. It feels like this work has opened another avenue for discussions on power, perspective, and the very nature of how we understand our own subjectivities. Editor: Absolutely. "She's Coming Out of His 3rd Eye" prompts us to reconsider our internal complexities as potential sources for resistance.