Unity (mylar/separation) 1995

Curator: Louis Delsarte's "Unity (mylar/separation)" presents us with a fascinating array of marks and ambiguous figures. It is currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The initial feeling is of a ghostly blueprint, almost like a deconstructed human form caught between visibility and erasure. What does it evoke for you? Curator: Well, Delsarte's work often grapples with themes of identity and the fragmented nature of experience. The title "Unity," juxtaposed with "separation," hints at the tension between wholeness and division. Editor: Absolutely, and it speaks volumes about how concepts like unity are often ideological, masking real separations along lines of race, class, gender, and so on. Curator: The use of mylar, a translucent material, reinforces this idea, as does the almost diagrammatic quality of the lines and shapes. It invites us to look beneath the surface. Editor: It makes you wonder, what are the social forces that necessitate separation, and how might we, through art and activism, strive toward a more authentic unity? Curator: It's a piece that resonates on multiple levels. It gives us much to contemplate about what brings us together and what keeps us apart. Editor: A stark reminder of the constant negotiation required for collective liberation.