Cracked #12 Cover 1960

Curator: Wow, talk about a face that's falling apart, literally. What's the story here? Editor: Well, what we're looking at is "Cracked #12 Cover," painted in 1960 by Jack Davis. It's an artwork created as cover art. It's really playing with the comic and caricature style. It looks like naive art due to its flat background and playful rendering. Curator: A puzzle, that’s cute and a little unsettling! There's something unnerving about seeing a portrait depicted this way—it's like looking at someone whose identity is fragmented. The toothy grin adds a layer of maniacal glee that I am really enjoying. What do you make of it? Editor: Indeed, the image evokes complex reactions through the figure's distorted features. Davis' technique is noteworthy; he employs painting, it seems, to simulate the appearance of a jigsaw puzzle, ingeniously dissecting the figure's visage. Note the vivid red background with outlines of the missing pieces. Curator: The colors and medium give a sense of nostalgia. But it is not just nostalgia! I’m also thinking that maybe it makes a comment on how we are perceived, all those parts coming together... or falling apart in plain sight. Does it work as satire? Is it meant to reveal the absurdity beneath the surface of... well, just being human? Editor: Well, I interpret Davis’ fracturing of form less as satire and more as deconstruction, almost in the style of analytic cubism, stripping down conventional portraiture. His bold use of red could suggest anything from underlying anger to social critique of the times. The figure embodies a raw humanity—vulnerable yet bold. Curator: I see what you mean! There is definitely something subversive about the fragmentation. A commentary on identity... Editor: An intentional dissection. By fracturing the familiar, he encourages us to rethink our understanding. Curator: Ultimately it reminds me of that idea of all of our disparate parts—both what we show and what we hide! What a way to use caricature and comics. Editor: Agreed, an unsettling, fragmented glimpse into a self under construction.