Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Curtsy - Art


In Curtsy, an abstract, faceless form bends in a traditional gesture of respect. The figure in the painting is defined primarily by its long arms and legs, appendages that are much more prominent than the figure’s head. This focus on the limbs, rather than the face and head, dehumanizes the figure, making it an abstract form without personality or a soul. The figure is diminished and subjugated to the authority to which it curtsies.

Indeed, the curtsy is a gesture that suggests inferiority, a traditional motion that is intended to indicate the superiority of one person over another. The subjugating nature of this action is captured powerfully in Curtsy, the figure in the painting bent and faceless, serving as a nameless example of inferiority, the identity of the figure completely subverted and erased by this humble action.

©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

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