The Attentive Friend 1972

Editor: Here we have Desmond Morris’s “The Attentive Friend,” a 1972 watercolor painting that looks like it sprung straight from someone's imagination! It feels almost surreal. What's your take on this, in terms of interpretation? Curator: It’s intriguing how Morris invites us into a biomorphic world with this painting. Given the period, it's hard not to consider the backdrop of social change and anxieties around identity and alienation. The "friend" – this abstracted, almost grotesque figure – evokes a sense of the other. Editor: The "other"? Can you explain that? Curator: I see the use of organic, abstract forms alongside the figure, contrasting with the almost unsettling elements within it, suggesting a broader commentary on what is accepted or considered 'normal.' Look at how the one figure appears to 'devour' the landscape it sees! Could it be a commentary on humanity's relationship with the natural world? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't considered the historical context and its impact on portraying the figure so abstractly, but that makes sense given the social movements and questioning of norms happening in the 70s. Do you see the dreamscape also related to psychoanalysis? Curator: Exactly! Morris was after all a zoologist as well as a surrealist painter, so psychoanalysis as an examination of the human animal, as well as social issues can be examined in the dreamscape setting. It really places the focus on questioning established societal power dynamics through its subversion of traditional representational norms. Editor: Wow, seeing it through that lens really opens up a new way of interpreting it. Thanks so much. Curator: Indeed, a reminder that art always engages in a conversation with the society it reflects. Thank you!