Majorettes 2010

Zoe Hawk made this painting, called "Majorettes" sometime in the 20th century, and it looks like she used oil paint. The girls are painted so smoothly; the brushstrokes are almost invisible. It reminds me of early Alex Katz, but there’s something else going on here. Look how the figures in the front feel like they're breaking down, almost like a glitch in the matrix. It’s so subtle, but I keep thinking about it. It's like the artist is suggesting that something is off, and you're left wondering what that might be. I'm drawn to the contrast between the neat marching formation in the background and the chaos on the right with the nurse patching up the majorettes. It reminds me that art is always in conversation, and never truly finished. It’s up to us to keep it going.