Inside Out 2022

Editor: Here we have Jason Limon’s "Inside Out," a mixed-media piece from 2022. It has a somewhat unsettling feel, juxtaposing a skull with playful, almost childlike, geometric patterns and skeletons on both sides. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, let's think about this title, "Inside Out," and what that implies in our culture. It sets up a dialectic, doesn't it? What's hidden versus what's displayed. How does Limon use the visual language of surrealism to explore these tensions? Consider how the skeletons, often seen as symbols of mortality, are here almost cartoonish. What could that suggest about our relationship with death and vulnerability, especially within contemporary society's obsession with perfection and exterior presentation? Editor: That's interesting, the cartoonish aspect does soften the image a little. So you're saying that by putting this softer imagery alongside a more macabre skeleton figure, he is making some commentary on how our contemporary society copes with vulnerability? Curator: Precisely. The artist employs a vocabulary that subverts the traditional symbolism associated with skulls, prompting us to interrogate preconceived notions regarding fragility, concealment, and what it means to perform “normality.” It makes me think of the philosopher Judith Butler, who looked at performativity and how gender is constructed in the everyday as a type of unintentional theater. Could this painting similarly highlight constructed roles? Editor: The idea of performed identity, versus inner reality…I'm starting to see more layers here. This isn't just a simple image of life and death; it's about the space between. Thank you, I really enjoyed this discussion! Curator: It's in these tensions that art truly speaks. The interplay of "inside" and "outside" opens so many perspectives!