Royal 

Curator: Here we have Cassidy Rae Marietta's "Royal," a drawing featuring a nude figure entwined with a skeletal form and a peacock. What strikes you first? Editor: The stark contrast. A vibrant living figure against a symbol of mortality. And the peacock...it’s an opulent detail that hints at layers of symbolism. Curator: Indeed. Marietta’s medium, drawing, invites an appreciation of the linework, and its creation. Note how she uses it to define not just the figures, but to add a near hallucinatory, dreamlike quality, pushing at our understanding of the production of erotic imagery. The materials are, by themselves, quite simple, but become extravagant through labor and craft. Editor: Absolutely, and let's unpack that line work. It's both decorative and descriptive, especially in rendering the skeletal structure versus the fluidity of the figure's hair. The contrasting textures and densities contribute to the composition, almost vibrating with tension, enhanced by the stylistic choice of visible lines over shading. It creates a kind of hyper-reality, doesn't it? Curator: I agree. "Royal," as a piece, subverts ideas around access and privilege within art historical narratives and production itself. Marietta questions where and how the erotic figure sits inside modern visual art. Editor: And the positioning of the figures! The face almost pressed against the skull. This is the core to this drawing, as Marietta composes a narrative with implied metaphors of death as an erotic force. The peacock, traditionally a symbol of beauty and pride, seems almost like a macabre embellishment here, contributing to an exploration into the subconscious, as one might view Eros and Thanatos. Curator: Perhaps through this work, she’s illustrating those systems of power dynamics at play not only inside art history, but more specifically the way viewers consume the nude form as an erotic symbol. The nude figure then can perhaps symbolize both desire and subversion. Editor: That offers an elegant reading. For me, considering how form dictates meaning, "Royal" is evocative, a skillful arrangement that presents its symbolism in a striking, visually captivating way. Curator: A powerful image, both disturbing and strangely beautiful. Editor: Agreed. A haunting contemplation.