Untitled 1957

Curator: We’re now standing in front of Forrest Bess’s "Untitled" painting from 1957, executed in oil. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: It strikes me as a very primal scene— a crude crescent moon hangs above a dark, fragmented horizon line against a field of what appears to be blood red sky with what might be some dark figures looming. It has an unsettling feel. Curator: Considering the application of paint, you can really see Bess's emphasis on materiality. The oil paint is thick and textured. You get the sense that the repetitive marks – the dots above, the stark delineation between the red and black – it was quite laborious to apply. Editor: Absolutely. The symbolism is so direct, almost raw. The moon is a potent symbol – cycles, the feminine, mystery, but the way it’s rendered feels almost like a scar against the bloody sky. Curator: There is something intriguing about his process of using crude lines and forms – the horizon looking rough and torn, rather than a smooth transition. Bess was working at a time where there were anxieties concerning authenticity and what a painted image really meant and so this work shows his investment in that exploration of crude materiality. Editor: Do you think his fascination with primal imagery connects with his biographical details? He believed he possessed both male and female aspects and actively sought to explore those in himself and the paintings? Curator: That’s quite possible. Bess lived a rather isolated existence as a bait fisherman. He worked manually at sea, painting during downtime. It makes you wonder to what degree the conditions and materials available to him on hand impacted on his unique form of mark making. Editor: His engagement with archetypal symbols, almost mystical…it transcends his immediate reality. It feels very internal and psychologically rich despite its rather straightforward and humble presentation of raw materials. Curator: Precisely. Ultimately, "Untitled" provides a snapshot into the tangible methods through which an abstract, raw material such as oil can translate personal beliefs and symbolic weight onto the surface of a painting. Editor: Yes, I find it powerful how Bess translates this internal search for meaning into bold, striking and enduring external symbolic forms. It lingers in the mind.