Self-Portrait as Jealous Tiger 1973

Curator: Dieter Roth's "Self-Portrait as Jealous Tiger" is held at the Tate Collections and offers a fascinating lens into his artistic practice. I’m curious, what's your initial reaction to it? Editor: Chaotic! Like a child's drawing but with an adult's angst. It feels both playful and strangely unsettling, as if joy and fury are battling for space. Curator: Roth was very interested in process and materiality. This print, with its bold lines and vibrant color blocking, shows a clear engagement with mass production techniques, almost a Pop Art sensibility but dirtier, rawer. Editor: Exactly! I see the Pop Art influence, but with a twisted confessional edge. It's like he's laying bare his insecurities, using that tiger as a metaphor for envy or possessiveness. The "self" is so fragmented. Curator: Indeed, Roth often challenged the boundaries between high art and the everyday. The self-portrait as a printed multiple democratizes the idea of artistic identity, but also suggests its inherent instability. Editor: It’s intriguing how this potentially reproducible image still feels deeply personal and idiosyncratic. Makes you wonder about the many facets of the self, and art's power to unearth them. Curator: Yes, by embracing the mechanics of reproduction, Roth ironically enhances the unique emotional charge of this jealous tiger. Editor: What a wild ride through the printing press of the soul.