What's Between You and Me 

Curator: Welcome. We're looking at a piece titled "What's Between You and Me" by Eric Fischl. Editor: Wow, intense! It’s crowded, almost claustrophobic. The flesh tones are really grabbing my attention. What's it made of? Curator: The museum's notes suggest oil and maybe pastel, but the layering has this certain texture. Regardless, the way Fischl builds up the paint emphasizes bodies in motion, maybe a little uneasy. Editor: Yes, uneasy is right. It reminds me of the kind of manufactured intimacy you see at beach resorts. The painting hints at the artificiality in some leisure settings, and how workers contribute to sustain that illusion. You can sense the social pressure. It is almost dream-like. Curator: Exactly, the artist often focused on portraying awkward social moments within middle-class America. Think about the positioning; many of these figures aren't engaging. The gaze seems averted; we get glimpses of backs and shoulders. This distance seems intentional, right? Editor: Oh, absolutely. It isn't only subject but also the use of visible strokes, they don’t seem to dissolve at a certain point; they rather suggest something is continuously “produced”. Curator: And those fragmented figures are presented in close proximity; it's like overhearing fragments of conversations and never quite knowing the full story, that captures this sense of detachment. Editor: It gives you the feeling that it could be displayed somewhere other than in a museum. Perhaps that would make us think about how society also produces what counts as worthy to admire. Curator: You know, in terms of cultural critique, it shows the power structures at play. And seeing how our responses contribute to constructing cultural hierarchies... I never thought of it this way before. Editor: Yes. I mean that art relies on very human material inputs and it also helps produce society in a way. This work then gives insights on ways we might re-think them.