Eye and Camera: Marble, Red, Black, Etc. - Lying Figure Reversed c. 1973

Curator: This intriguing piece, currently housed in the Tate Collections, is by John Piper. Entitled "Eye and Camera: Marble, Red, Black, Etc. - Lying Figure Reversed," it immediately strikes me as a collage of layered forms. Editor: Yes, there's an almost dreamlike quality to the repetition of the figure, floating on that marbled background. It’s simultaneously familiar and unsettling. Curator: The layering of figures and textures suggests a meditation on perception, perhaps how the eye and camera capture different versions of reality. Notice the reversed figures, implying a play with reflection and perspective. Editor: Absolutely. The use of bold colors and flat shapes gives it a graphic, almost Pop Art feel. The reclining figure, a classic art historical motif, is rendered abstract, creating a tension between tradition and modernity. I wonder how audiences at the time understood that. Curator: The contrast between the fluid marbling and the solid color figures also points to a deeper dialogue – the organic versus the manufactured, the natural versus the artificial. Editor: It’s a striking composition—one that invites reflection on how we construct our understanding of the body and its place within the visual world.