Gargantua: Chapter IV 

Curator: Today we're looking at "Gargantua: Chapter IV," a print by Bernard Reder rendered in ink. What's your immediate response to it? Editor: It feels playful, like a child's dream. There's a lightness despite the stark ink. Like something you might find illustrating an old fable. Curator: Absolutely. The fantastical elements—a sort of minotaur-esque beast carrying what seems to be a cherubic figure—create that fairy-tale quality. Reder taps into some very old archetypes here. Consider the minotaur’s associations with hidden labyrinths and primal, untamed forces, set against the embracing, loving posture of this infant like figure. Editor: That juxtaposition is powerful. The figure looks almost fused with the beast. It makes me wonder if it represents a merging of innocence and instinct, or perhaps even our hidden bestial selves that yearn for nurturing. Curator: Precisely. The symbolism runs deep. The embracing gesture hints at themes of innocence, dependence, even potentiality. Think of images of Europa and the bull or other mythic animal abductions where humans ride an animal: there is an act of taming and domesticating the animal nature and force. It suggests the early stages of life, carried by impulse, rather than the other way around. Editor: It’s intriguing how the style reinforces that. The scratchy, almost hurried linework makes it feel raw and immediate, capturing a fleeting emotion. Curator: I think you've nailed it. Reder has masterfully used the print medium to convey a sense of spontaneity. The use of ink further anchors it within the artistic traditions of expressionist and surrealist illustration. Editor: I am struck that we call it Gargantua though, the beast in the Rabelais story is driven by base desires and excessive eating. The innocence here almost flies in the face of the animal, aggressive being in the written tale. I wonder, then, is the artist drawing the viewer in for a playful moment only to reflect on a dark truth? Curator: That is definitely food for thought! I will need to go think about that even more now myself... Editor: Well, I'm glad that it had you thinking as much as it did me. Maybe the listeners out there have a new thought, too!