Hombre Asustado 1955

Curator: Mathias Goeritz created this piece, "Hombre Asustado," or "Scared Man," in 1955. It's cast in bronze. Editor: My first impression? I feel a real kinship. He seems…rooted to the spot, almost like a frightened tree. There's this fantastic roughness to the bronze; you can see the artist’s hand in every facet. Curator: The intentional roughness you’re noticing is key. Goeritz embraced this materiality as part of his artistic strategy, contrasting it with smooth, polished academic sculptures which, for him, symbolized outmoded social values. This was about reclaiming artistic integrity through direct, unvarnished process. Editor: Ah, right. It makes the raw emotion feel even rawer. It's fascinating how such a still, solid form manages to convey that frozen, deer-in-the-headlights terror. Did he do similar figurative works at the time? Curator: He did, but Goeritz also situated this kind of raw, emotional approach within a broader project critiquing Mexican modernism. “Hombre Asustado,” particularly because of its small scale, cheap materials, and roughly hewn surfaces, rejected any form of institutional aesthetics, while pointing back to popular artisanal traditions of the region. The etched-in patterns seem to almost vibrate with tension. Editor: They almost look like scratched-in cries for help, don't they? Thinking about it, maybe it is a monument to vulnerability, carved with the simplest and most urgent forms and made from cheap, direct materials, but it really makes one think about one's place. Curator: Precisely. It’s a direct intervention, demanding recognition of artistic labour while eschewing formalist concerns about representation and finish. Editor: Thanks, understanding his raw perspective helped to melt something, inside.