Proposal 2007

Curator: Look at this intriguing work by Claude Lawrence titled "Proposal," created back in 2007. It's a drawing, rendered in what strikes me as a refreshingly raw style. Editor: My initial thought? It feels delightfully…awkward. The clashing figures, that unexpected blue… there's a captivating discordance at play. It brings out inner-childish memories somehow. Curator: Right? It’s as if the figures are caught mid-performance in some silent, slightly bizarre play. Lawrence was deeply engaged with social dynamics, wouldn't you agree? Especially as it pertains to black experience. His work often challenged prevailing narratives, proposing new ways of seeing and being. Editor: Absolutely. I'm immediately drawn to the figures. One appears almost spectral, rendered in shadow with roseate blotches like internal organs on display, whereas the other in contrast, bathed in bright orange. One seems anchored, the other floating away…there's something very gendered at play in the construction of their figures as well. Curator: Indeed. What I love most about his art is that sense of unfurling revelation; it’s a proposition of visual ideas and it feels intimate somehow. You can sense him almost working it through right on the paper! Editor: Yes, you almost want to grab your tools and keep going yourself! The "Proposal" offers a snapshot into possible new beginnings as the two struggle for individual and joint identity. But as a drawing from 2007, this comes after decades of work by Claude Lawrence; his artistic proposals feel ripe with his history. What do we do with this offer now, as witnesses to his life and work? Curator: He's not an easy artist to passively engage with; so many questions spring to mind! Perhaps what strikes me most is that the "proposal" may be nothing more than an opening to create dialogue on love, self-worth, and being open to accept it from unexpected people or places. Editor: Precisely. Thank you for expanding the way I view his body of work. He seems to be asking us, "How will we engage, challenge, propose, and evolve?” And is that proposal between those two people on paper…or offered to us as spectators? It is worth thinking about further!