The Gathering of the Clans 1952

Curator: Adja Yunkers, a Latvian-American artist, created "The Gathering of the Clans." Editor: It feels tribal, the way the figures are rendered, and the blue ink gives it a somber mood. Curator: The title suggests a community coming together, perhaps in the face of adversity. Yunkers was part of the New York School, so abstraction became a means of responding to the social climate. Editor: And look at the texture! It’s clearly a print, maybe a woodcut or linocut? You can see the marks of the tool. He's wrestling with the material, and that struggle is visible. Curator: The use of abstraction allowed artists like Yunkers to engage with social issues in a less direct, perhaps less confrontational, way, which resonated strongly during the Cold War period. Editor: It's a powerful reminder of how artists used process to convey meaning beyond the visual. Curator: Indeed, this work speaks to the complexities of identity and collective action. Editor: Seeing the labor in its creation changes how I view it.