Curtsy 1999

Justine Kurland made this photograph, Curtsy, at an unknown date. It’s all a bit blurry, but I can make out a woman bent over in a field of wildflowers, next to what looks like a road. She is curtsying or picking flowers, I’m not sure. I'm wondering what Justine was thinking when she took this picture. Was she trying to capture a moment of innocence, or was she more interested in the contrast between the natural world and the urban landscape in the background? I admire her for finding beauty in the ordinary. It reminds me of some of my own work, where I try to find the extraordinary in the everyday. I am sure that like me, Justine is in an ongoing dialogue with other artists. We all respond to one another's work and build upon each other's ideas, embracing ambiguity in order for multiple interpretations to emerge.