Personnages 2 

Editor: Here we have Aurel Cojan’s watercolor drawing, “Personnages 2.” The figures are only lightly defined and have an almost ghostly feel. What's your take on a piece like this? Curator: It's interesting how Cojan uses such a light touch to portray figures. It challenges traditional portraiture. How do social contexts influence artists in deciding who and how to represent? Editor: That's a great point. I was so focused on the aesthetic I hadn’t considered how its style reflects society's expectations for representation. Why might he choose abstraction over realism? Curator: The choice moves away from glorifying any specific individual and invites viewers to contemplate the universality of human experience. The rise of abstraction in the 20th century coincides with questioning of traditional power structures and visibility. Who gets seen and who is rendered invisible is always at play. Editor: Invisible, but still visible…The work gives me an idea about the society in which it was made, a constant negotiation between being visible and blending in. What can we say about its line work? Curator: The line work itself echoes this sentiment – tentative, unfinished. This unfinished quality invites speculation, empowering the viewer to project themselves and experiences onto the art. Who is this art *really* for? Editor: That definitely changes my perspective! Now I see it as less about the specific individuals, and more about what we project onto the image ourselves. Curator: Precisely. By stripping away concrete identifiers, Cojan shifts the power dynamics between artist, subject, and audience, questioning how and why we assign value to certain representations. Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. So it's not just about *who* is being portrayed, but *why* and for *whom*. Thanks for making me think about it from that angle.