Peacock 2018

Editor: This is Pavlo Makov's "Peacock" created in 2018, an ink drawing on paper. The stark black and white cityscape has a bird's-eye perspective, creating a blueprint vibe. What stands out to you when you examine this composition? Curator: The geometry of this drawing is immediately apparent, and, for me, constitutes its essence. Observe the interplay of radial symmetry emanating from the city centre and how it interacts with orthogonal structures in the lower portion. How does the texture, achieved by the artist's deployment of ink, serve to reinforce these spatial relationships? Editor: It makes the planned, geometrical elements seem almost organic and lived-in, somehow. Like the rigid plans have been softened by time. What do you mean by "spatial relationships" – are there are relationships *between* geometric shapes, and how so? Curator: Precisely! Consider the artist's deployment of the circular forms and lines and note the inherent tension this creates on a rectangular sheet, how these different motifs seem to want to 'push' off the rectangular confines. This effect yields an undeniable formal power. Editor: So it’s not necessarily about what it depicts, but how those shapes interact? I see now how that tension really animates the drawing. Curator: Exactly. Meaning is often derived from the compositional dynamics that either amplify, contrast, or even obscure what appear to be representations or objects. It's in this relationship, often unnoticed by those who aren’t practiced in thinking along these lines, that profound observations await. Editor: This approach certainly gives me a fresh way to examine abstract elements in visual art. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. I find such an analysis incredibly fruitful for interpreting the aesthetic meaning behind many art forms.