Curatorial notes
Curator: Oh, there's something delightfully unsettling about this piece, isn't there? We're looking at "Paper Tiger" by Jason Limon, from 2019, crafted with mixed media. I think it captures that fragile, slightly unhinged feeling we all get from time to time. Editor: My initial read is one of blatant artificiality—a kind of commentary on surface versus substance, perhaps. I’m immediately drawn to the medium: the texture of the “paper” tiger mask, its evident fabrication… there’s a tangible sense of artifice that's crucial here. Curator: Absolutely, and that contrast is everything! That paper tiger, all bluster and show, barely containing this little skeleton hiding inside. It whispers of vulnerability. Almost comical, like the mask is a child’s craft project. Does it speak of how things are made, or consumed? Or just a light mockery of appearance, generally. Editor: Exactly! The skeletal figure behind it shifts our perspective. It’s positioned, visually, almost like product placement within this tiger-branded container. I want to ask how much Limon wants us to consider the production of identities for capitalist consumption—the labor required to produce a self. Curator: That's so astute, a tiger mask produced as an image of commodified and mass produced power! For me though, the rough edges of the mask and the vulnerable skeleton point towards deeper struggles that belie any product-based experience of persona. We mask ourselves in flimsy defenses – anger, arrogance, consumerism - yet, beneath, that's all we are—bone! So how might this make us think of artmaking itself—Limon crafting his illusion to confront truth? Editor: I’m particularly interested in his choice of “mixed media.” I think it reinforces his core intention. Curator: Indeed. A blending, layering – much like the layers we use in creating a facade. Its a neat mirror, or is it a warning. Ultimately, it’s quite captivating, something I keep returning to… the mind wanders to this shared artifice… Editor: The tiger may roar. The skeleton is only here. It certainly begs more examination of the role craft plays in the critique of our consumer landscape.