Family 1988

Editor: Here we have Eric Massholder's "Family," painted in 1988 with acrylic paint. The chaotic arrangement and unusual color palette are really striking, but what I find most compelling is the distorted perspective—everything feels simultaneously flat and three-dimensional. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The strength of "Family" lies in its formal juxtapositions. Observe the tensions between the foregrounded figures, rendered in high-key blues and greens, and the more subdued, almost ghostly figures in the background. Note how the artist disrupts traditional portraiture through flattened planes and arbitrary color choices. Editor: Arbitrary how? Curator: In the sense that the colors seem disconnected from any attempt to represent the subjects realistically. Rather, the artist employs color expressively. Consider also the rough application of paint, verging on graffiti-like markings. This suggests an interest less in mimesis and more in surface texture and raw energy. How does this energy speak to you? Editor: I think it makes the image feel modern, maybe even a bit rebellious? Are you saying the subject matter is less important than the paint itself? Curator: Precisely. The titular "family" serves primarily as a vehicle for exploring painterly concerns. The canvas becomes a site where color, line, and form interact dynamically. The painting exists as an arrangement, and its semantic function – the idea of a family portrait – is secondary to the arrangement itself. The artist asks us to value process and construction, over representation. Editor: That makes so much sense. I came in thinking it was a commentary on family, but now I see it's more about how painting itself can convey meaning. Curator: Indeed. It's a testament to the power of formal analysis to uncover the core intentions of the artist, to see the artwork as an interplay of fundamental aesthetic components.