When thumbing through the catalog, Imagining Community, for Bubalo's gallery, I was immediately struck by both the complexity and simplicity of this piece. The piece resonates with a theme throughout all her work: contradiction, where she emphasizes both the individual and the community from which the individual arises, and more specifically in this piece, the tension that comes from interracial relationships, but also the harmony found within those relationships. The way the women are positioned physically connects them together, but from what I draw from this piece, she is still emphasizing their difference with the physical contrast of the black and white.
The simplicity of the piece allows the reader to imagine the sort of conversations that could have arisen from this piece, both of the viewers and the subjects of the illustration. I personally imagine the two women having a dialogue about what support and solidarity between women looks like and how race complicates and aggravates that solidarity. Such questions and dialogues are central to community and to Bubalo's communication of Mennonite culture and history through her art and writing.
Untitled (Two Women, Two Babies), 1969
Ink on heavy Kodak paper, 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Ink on heavy Kodak paper, 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Hayley, I am glad you picked up on how Bubalo contrasts the women through her use of ink, highlighting their differences, yet positions them in a conversational way. The use of both subject matter and medium strengthens her message, and I did not even realize it when I first looked at this piece!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really cool that you imagined them having a conversation. I've never done that before. I like how natural the women look. As though it never even occurred to them, that they come from different races.
ReplyDeleteThe more I see of Bubalo's work, the more I like it. I agree with you that it's complex and simple at the same time. I think that everything, like you said, was very deliberate and I love the symmetry of the women (the rug is not quite centered, and I'm a little curious about the significance of that, if there is any).
ReplyDeleteHayley, very well said. I actually really love this piece as well. I also love your point on the way that race aggravates the solidarity between our relationships. Isn't that too bad? However, I am so glad that Bubalo took the liberty to be an advocate for such relationships through her artwork.
ReplyDeleteHayley, you describe well the way Bubalo's art works to simplify shapes and forms and other elements of composition without sacrificing the complexity of the subject. Your response demonstrates the way in which her harmonies of black and white in this drawing serve to create a space for the viewer to enter into the dialogue. As far as the asymmetry of the rug is concerned--I think that, too, helps to draw the reader in and remind them of the asymmetries in life. Also, it's curious that more of the rug is under the white figure.(
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