Guitarist’s Mother 

Curator: Welcome! This captivating work is titled "Guitarist's Mother" by Iwo Zaniewski. You’ll notice it’s created with the medium of drawing and uses a figurative style to explore a genre scene. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the split composition – two distinct rooms rendered in contrasting color palettes, yet intimately connected. There's a deep sense of longing conveyed by the quiet intimacy on the left, starkly juxtaposed with the musician in what looks like an explosion of colour on the right. Curator: That split is key, isn't it? Considering this piece, I'm particularly drawn to the construction of domestic space, and how Zaniewski uses these opposing halves to potentially signify separation or alternative states of being. The sea, visible from both windows, seems to act as a unifier. It creates the sense that the sitters are psychologically intertwined in different states of activity, yet simultaneously sharing the space. What do we make of that? Editor: I agree the maritime horizon links them. Yet, there is also a political economy to consider: How the very act of artistic creation – or the 'genre painting' element you highlighted – both celebrates and perhaps obfuscates real labor in different societies. I am thinking about what’s obscured when the intimate lives of creative individuals, especially that of care providers, are opened up for public viewership. Curator: Fascinating. Do you feel this relates to the presentation style and artistic influence as well? To me, this has elements that might categorize it within Naive Art. And maybe that categorization, the use of that frame is important to interrogate: does it provide a different kind of lens on that very social or familial history you identify? Or, conversely, reinforce stereotypical positions through it’s folk-like stylings? Editor: That's a valid point. I wonder too, what Zaniewski is hoping to say about our assumptions of the value of folk traditions, what’s traditionally feminized in both domestic labor and cultural output. In our roles of art viewing we get so used to the idea of separating artist as one category and 'sitter' as other - which, with this composition, he seems to intentionally throw into chaos. Curator: A challenge indeed. So, as we leave this drawing, perhaps we can consider this a challenge thrown down in multiple ways - what makes history "fine art", what perspectives need to be considered beyond those immediately offered and ultimately who are the silent voices usually unheard in those cultural and historical assessments? Editor: I couldn’t agree more! I hope everyone joins in and helps us fill out this discussion!