Seeing Red 2014

Kent Monkman painted 'Seeing Red,' and it's a wild ride. Monkman's canvas is packed, and the brushwork is tight. There’s a real feeling of pressure, not just in the subject matter, but in the way the paint is applied. The artist isn’t afraid to put things together that maybe don’t belong. The most striking part for me is the bull. It is thick with pigment, but scratched at and scrubbed into, as if the paint itself is enduring some kind of trauma. This is the key to how Monkman uses texture to show how our physical, emotional, and historical experiences mark us. The bull's rage, it's not just metaphorical - it's built into the very surface of the painting. Monkman makes me think of artists like Peter Saul, who aren’t afraid to be visually and politically provocative. The painting refuses easy answers or comfortable viewing, and that’s exactly the point.