Poussin (Défiguration) 1962

Editor: Here we have Asger Jorn’s "Poussin (Défiguration)" from 1962, rendered in oil paint. It certainly is... striking. The overlaid brushstrokes on what appears to be an existing portrait are pretty aggressive. What’s your take on it? Curator: Considering Jorn's background in Marxist thought and his engagement with the Situationist International, this "défiguration" is ripe for materialist analysis. The gesture itself—the defacing—speaks volumes. What materials did he use to obliterate the original portrait? Was the initial artwork a cheap reproduction or a valuable antique? Editor: Interesting. I didn't even consider that this could have been made with mass produced materials. What difference would it make? Curator: If Jorn attacked a cheaply-made copy, we can look at the work as a violent rejection of the art market's capitalist reproduction. The act questions not just aesthetics, but the commodification of culture itself. Alternatively, defacing a historically valuable painting might signal an attack on traditional art historical values, perhaps accusing previous artists as proponents of colonialism. Jorn is rejecting something in the process of covering something else up with paint, almost protesting traditional modes of high art! How does this act of defacement using physical paint subvert that tradition? Editor: So it's about the physical action and materials involved, rather than simply the image we see. Looking at it now, the drips and smears seem intentional, pushing against any sort of idealized presentation. Curator: Exactly! We must acknowledge the materiality and its political dimensions: questioning production, value, and artistic intention in the 20th century. This pushes the painting past being about portraiture to questioning the values around art production. Editor: That definitely changes my perception. I'll be keeping the method and medium in mind from now on when considering paintings like this. Thank you for shedding some light on those ideas! Curator: Absolutely! Always look to the process, labor, and materiality for answers. It opens a whole new world of understanding.