Light of Iris 1924

Editor: So, here we have Georgia O'Keeffe's "Light of Iris," created in 1924 using oil paint. The scale of the flower is just overwhelming! What captures your attention most in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to O'Keeffe's manipulation of scale and form. Notice how the edges of the petals are not sharply defined but softly blended? It creates a sense of endlessness, almost like the flower is expanding beyond the canvas. This treatment rejects traditional pictorial space, inviting a more phenomenological experience. Editor: Phenomenological, can you say more? Curator: Of course. Instead of replicating a flower, O’Keeffe invites the viewer to explore color and shape – violet, yellow and whites melding. Look closely at how O'Keeffe has employed shading, subtly highlighting the concavity and convexity within the flower's form, which introduces dynamism, challenging our expectations of still-life. Don’t you agree? Editor: Yes! It’s interesting how you focus on the interplay between colour and shape instead of representation. Do you think O'Keeffe would agree with your analysis? Curator: That's ultimately irrelevant; authorial intent is external to the art object itself. What remains are the structural relationships within the canvas. But tell me, has this altered how you appreciate the artwork? Editor: Absolutely. I was focused on the flower itself. Now, I see a meticulously arranged composition, that’s intended to make us see flowers or, for that matter, objects, in a completely new way. Curator: Precisely! Form triumphs over subject matter.