Dimensions: support: 1524 x 2030 mm frame: 1650 x 2110 x 45 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Carel Weight | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Carel Weight’s, The Friends, presents such a compelling domestic drama, doesn't it? The figures seem trapped, almost stage-bound, within this interior. Editor: It's like they're characters in a play, maybe a bit melancholic. I'm curious about the location; what do you think this space tells us about the people within it? Curator: Well, the domestic interior, particularly post-war, becomes a stage for social anxieties and personal narratives. Weight was concerned with ordinary people and his art consistently made them visible. The windows frame a world outside, but do these figures have access to it? Or are they confined by social forces and circumstance? Editor: So, the setting isn't just backdrop; it's part of their story. I see it now. Thanks!
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tate about 2 months ago
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/weight-the-friends-t01063
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tate about 2 months ago
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The artist wrote of this work: 'the idea of the picture came from a visit to the flat of two lesbians, who lived in a rather dreary part of South London. The general atmosphere affected me; the feeling of loneliness of these two in rather squalid surroundings, rather fascinated me. The figures in my picture are in no way realistic portraits of these two people. They are entirely figments of my imagination. On the other hand, I have used the setting which is a realistic transcription of my own sitting room and the view of the little suburban houses through the window'. Gallery label, August 2004
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