Self-Portrait c. 1960

Curator: So, here we have Andrew A. Kincannon’s "Self-Portrait," created around 1960. It’s an intaglio print. Editor: First impression? Restrained but yearning. A study in contradictions, rendered in shades of longing, almost like a ghost inhabiting the crisp edges of realism. Curator: Restrained, yes, absolutely. Considering the historical context of portraiture, particularly self-portraiture, it is very unusual for an artist of this period to render themselves not gazing directly at the viewer. Instead, his upward gaze redirects the power dynamic inherent in the genre. We can analyze how Kincannon disrupts conventional representation. Editor: Interesting. To me, it's as if he is caught in the act of dreaming about transcendence, maybe trying to get a glimpse into some deeper truth. I am always wondering, where do you think he's looking? Curator: The positioning invites questions about identity and representation within mid-century art. Where does Kincannon position himself in the societal currents of his time? Consider the sociopolitical context. The Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum... What anxieties and hopes might Kincannon, as an artist, be grappling with? Editor: Maybe the weight of it all! Artists are sponges, soaking up the collective consciousness and then squeezing it back out onto the canvas. The rigid lines crisscrossing the face feel like restraints, or maybe boundaries he is hoping to escape. I mean the geometric abstraction across a realistic figuration, can feel almost like conflicting emotional states trying to exist within the same being. Curator: I concur; those imposed geometric shapes prevent easy categorization, echoing debates around identity and self-definition during the period. Editor: And, you know, there is also just something about how the background is blocked out. One black wall next to a blank, ghostly wall feels loaded. Makes me ask myself, you know, am I facing freedom or confinement? And the simple starkness just echoes. What will define me? Curator: I agree. Overall, Kincannon’s print initiates vital conversations on the intertwined realities of identity and socio-political forces shaping artistic expressions. Editor: Yes. You have to wonder, in his dreams and hopes, who did Kincannon aspire to be when looking away?