Avery's Family 1992

Editor: "Avery's Family", a gelatin silver print by Nancy Andrews from 1992. The vulnerability, exposed in the infant's form and the father's chest, speaks volumes even without seeing faces. What layers of meaning do you uncover when you look at it? Curator: The layered meaning resonates profoundly. Observe the father's hands—the protective enclosure, the offering. These aren’t just hands, but potent symbols, reminiscent of medieval iconography where hands signified divine intervention or blessing. The father becomes an earthly protector, his bare chest vulnerable, yet strong, anchoring a new life. It mirrors ancient "Kuroi Bosatsu" images where figures manifest power while embracing vulnerability to offer salvation. Editor: I see what you mean, a kind of secular saint! What does the bareness contribute to the meaning? Curator: Precisely! The bareness disrupts conventional portraiture; it isn’t about social status, it’s about primal connection. The contrast in textures--smooth skin of the infant versus the rough denim--amplifies this tension, mirroring classical depictions of motherhood where both figures reveal some degree of nudity as symbolic of natural states. Think about Renaissance paintings of Adam and Eve... what’s revealed in being stripped bare? Editor: A raw honesty, perhaps a breaking down of social constructs... revealing universal vulnerability? Curator: Exactly. It highlights a core human truth-- the fundamental interdependence of parent and child. And what emotional weight might viewers bring to a symbol like this? Personal history perhaps? Editor: Maybe their own experience with a father or child. Thanks for that wonderful perspective. I’ll definitely think of Renaissance art differently from now on.