Amazon Tribe of Taboo Maidens 1968

This is a painting by Mort Künstler, Amazon Tribe of Taboo Maidens, and I am immediately struck by the pulp magazine cover quality of the light and colour, like a fever dream of adventure. The colour palette is all bright primaries, reds, yellows, and greens, with a thick application of paint to the foregrounded action. The surface of the painting has a smooth, almost airbrushed quality, contrasting with the comic book drama of the scene, where a blonde woman and her companion seem to be escaping, or perhaps invading, some local tribe. Künstler has managed to capture the turbulence of the river, with its choppy waves and frothy spray, by layering the paint in a way that emphasizes the physicality of the water. Look at how the turquoise mixes with pure white to describe movement and flow. It reminds me a little of some of the weirder paintings by Philip Guston, a cartoonish language of form used to invoke darker themes. Art is an ongoing conversation and a constant process of re-evaluation. It’s rarely clear-cut and always open to new interpretations.