Eye Jen 2017

Editor: We’re looking at David Michael Hinnebusch’s mixed-media artwork, "Eye Jen," created in 2017. The colors are really vibrant, and the figure in the center almost feels lost amidst all these lines and abstract shapes. What are your thoughts on this? How do you interpret this work through a historical lens? Curator: This piece clearly engages with the lineage of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, movements that profoundly impacted the art world’s institutions and the role of the artist in society. Hinnebusch seems to be reflecting on the continued relevance of these styles. Does the prominent, somewhat surreal, "eye" atop the composition resonate with earlier, perhaps spiritual, quests in abstract art? Editor: The eye definitely stands out! It does have a symbolic quality, but within such an abstract setting, I wonder about the message it's trying to send. Is it a commentary on surveillance? Curator: Precisely! Consider how artists throughout history have used symbols to critique social structures. Given the work’s date, the rise of digital surveillance culture is certainly relevant. Is the artist suggesting that we are constantly watched, and perhaps even more crucially, how that awareness changes our sense of self, depicted here in this rather fragile central nude? Editor: That’s a compelling point. It makes you think about the gaze itself – who is watching, and why? The vibrant colors juxtaposed with the raw lines, along with the vulnerability of the figure, is quite unsettling, in a thought-provoking way. Curator: Exactly. How do the institutional spaces – galleries, museums – normalize certain forms of seeing and representing the human figure? Is this "Eye Jen" participating in that tradition or questioning it? It definitely challenges traditional notions of beauty and artistic representation, inviting a re-evaluation of art’s public role and its power dynamics. Editor: It is very thought-provoking, I see much more to it now. Thank you for this insight. Curator: It was my pleasure, analyzing contemporary artwork is always fascinating. I wonder how people will view such art in the decades to come.