Faun 

Editor: Thomas Wilmer Dewing's "Faun," likely painted in oil, has such a hazy, dreamlike quality. There's a figure, a suggestion of nature, but everything feels shrouded in symbolism. What do you see in this piece, with its almost mythological undertones? Curator: The lasting resonance of mythological figures, like fauns, comes from their embodiment of primal desires and the untamed aspects of nature that exist within us all. This Faun carries not the horns of Pan, or even overtly goat-like features. Do you notice what it *does* carry? Editor: It’s holding…a painter’s palette. So, instead of some wild creature, we see someone representing the creative spirit? Curator: Exactly. Consider the placement of that palette; it's literally covering the faun's genitalia, right at their…root, let’s say. This speaks to the channeling of creative energy, sublimation even. Art becomes a safe, even celebrated, outlet. Do you get the sense of anything classical coming through? Editor: The figure’s pose has echoes of classical sculpture. Is Dewing linking artistic creation to something ancient? Curator: Yes, artistic pursuits weren’t seen as marginal activities. In fact, the tradition reaches back to antiquity. They were deeply entwined with the soul, humanity, and what it means to exist. Dewing reminds us of this inherent, even “divine," drive. Where do you feel that link now? Editor: I had initially dismissed this piece as indistinct. But now I see how charged with meaning it is, how deeply rooted in cultural history. Curator: It demonstrates how powerfully we can see the continuity of the present with the past through visual symbols. I'll be thinking about this for a long while.