It’s Good To Be Back 

Editor: This painting is called "It’s Good To Be Back" by Jeff Jamison. It seems to be made with oil paint, maybe acrylic, and it strikes me as being very focused on form. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, the planar composition asserts itself. Note how Jamison divides the canvas, structuring our gaze. The reflections below, mimicking the figures above, create an interesting symmetry. Are those reflections exact, though? Editor: No, I don't think they're perfect. There are slight distortions. Curator: Precisely. These disruptions destabilize the initial sense of order. Look closely at the brushwork. Notice the texture and rhythm across the surface. What meaning do you derive from these formal properties, specifically, in the context of cityscape or genre-painting? Editor: I guess I hadn't thought of it like that. I was focusing more on the figures. The way the city almost dissolves around them makes me wonder what their story is, or what city this is supposed to be. Curator: Consider that this narrative impulse is not inherently pictorial. We could deconstruct our initial reading: figures under umbrellas; urban, possibly nostalgic scenario; through a purely formal interrogation that might bring to light other qualities we did not immediately understand. Is this the only narrative one might discern? Editor: Hmmm, maybe not. I hadn't thought about that perspective before. There's so much more going on in the brushstrokes themselves. Curator: Precisely. And understanding how each formal element contributes to the whole gives us deeper insight into the artist's choices. I find this piece quite thought-provoking in that respect. Editor: Yeah, that definitely gave me a new way to appreciate the artist’s composition. I was too caught up with trying to invent some story in my head.