Shrine of the Piggies (The Pigs Hog It All and Defecate and Piss on Where From They Get It and With Whom They Will not Share. That's It) 2000

Jo Baer made this painting called, "Shrine of the Piggies" with an interesting eye for the world. It feels like she's not just depicting a scene, but more like she's showing us how she sees it. Look at the way she uses these muted colors and outlines everything in green. Like she's tracing the edges of reality, trying to capture not just what's there, but also the feeling of it. You can almost see the process, the decisions she made as she went along. I feel like she is showing a bathroom as a space where it can be seen as a shrine of sorts. The pale palette with the bright green makes you feel like you're looking at an x-ray or something, that she is trying to show the hidden systems of power. Baer always had a way of making you think, and of making you question everything you thought you knew about art and the world. I'm reminded of Carolee Schneemann, who also uses the body in her work to question the status quo. Art is always a conversation, right?