Nasturtium Salad 1984

Curator: James Rosenquist's 1984 mixed-media painting, "Nasturtium Salad", immediately strikes me. The composition is so vibrant. Editor: Yes, the high gloss acrylic certainly pops, but I find the segmented face and clashing organic and artificial textures a little unsettling. Like processed food masquerading as something natural. Curator: Interesting take. Rosenquist came up working as a billboard painter, which definitely informs his aesthetic and use of everyday imagery. His pieces often reflect the fragmenting effect of mass media. Editor: You can see that in how he handles paint—the way he applies such sleek colors next to areas of near-photorealism, all disrupted by these flat planes. It feels both machine-made and deeply crafted. What kind of cultural role do you see that disruption fulfilling? Curator: During the Pop Art movement, of which Rosenquist was a key figure, there was this deliberate blurring of the lines between high art and commercial art. It challenged established hierarchies, forcing the viewer to confront the bombardment of imagery in contemporary life. Here, the model's face, obscured by hard-edged stripes and mixed with foliage, evokes themes of beauty standards. Editor: I suppose those segmented lines feel restrictive. Are we meant to feel constrained by societal pressures regarding physical appearances? And there is a sense that everything we're presented with is a surface or a flat façade that has been produced for us, and our own experiences are processed to reflect it? Curator: Exactly! His engagement with portraiture here highlights its function as commodity as well as record, suggesting it’s inextricably intertwined with market forces. Editor: He certainly brings his production skills to the gallery walls, prompting discussions about who defines what's "real" and the manufactured environments we inhabit daily. Well, that certainly gave me food for thought. Curator: And for me, it highlighted the ways that Rosenquist's paintings challenge the assumed neutrality of the images that shape our culture.