The Queen of Spades 1979

Curator: Before us is "The Queen of Spades" created by Vigen Vartanov in 1979, a mixed-media collage. The work combines portraiture with a somber palette and dense layers. Editor: It immediately evokes a sense of mystery. The limited color scheme—mostly grays and browns—creates a very muted atmosphere, as do the stark tree branches. The materials, whatever they might be, look weathered, like old paper. Curator: The "Queen of Spades," both as a card and literary figure, often signifies ill fortune, a powerful and dangerous woman, so I find it useful to think about the source narrative and Vartanov's historical positioning when encountering a figure as fraught as this one. There’s a dialogue occurring between those traditional symbolisms and a potentially more nuanced expression here, in his visual commentary. Editor: From my perspective, that visual commentary exists as it toys with texture, building the surface with collaged elements. It feels like the construction is integral to its impact; a layering of histories embodied by the very stuff of the art itself, the different pieces he uses to build it. There's a kind of recycling of material present, and also a social commentary. Curator: I find it difficult not to think about how notions of femininity and power intersect here. Consider the two faces in profile, one seemingly an inverse reflection of the other, a recurring trope. It feels very potent. Is there something to be said about Vartanov reclaiming the negative narrative of the Queen by perhaps doubling and fragmenting her form? Editor: What also strikes me, is the choice of what looks like a card and bouquet juxtaposed. You read this as an expression of femininity and power; I wonder about his material intention here: one speaks to leisure and labor – I am talking about those craft aspects; the other is nature or at least some form of imitation thereof – a manufactured good but also decorative element – what tension is Vartanov crafting by collaging together things laden with labor? Curator: That emphasis on materiality invites questions regarding our contemporary definitions of feminine roles as equally "constructed." He’s certainly inviting these kinds of discussions and intersections, and through this mixed medium it adds another layer to the artist’s dialogue. Editor: Indeed. Examining the “how” offers pathways to broader inquiries of “why." In the end, a focus on process enriches any discussion about meaning, I believe.