Merit: Not Talking Behind Another's Back
Artist
Victoria Carlson
(American, born 1960)
Date2006
MediumWatercolor, ink on paper
DimensionsImage: 8 1/16 × 5 5/8 in. (20.5 × 14.3 cm)
Support: 11 1/4 × 11 3/8 in. (28.6 × 28.9 cm)
Support: 11 1/4 × 11 3/8 in. (28.6 × 28.9 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Virginia C. Hopkins, 2012
Object number2012.24.1
DescriptionMale figure in body suit with red hair and beard in contortionist pose, seated on bowl with legs directed upward and feet behind head, hands in prayer, measuring cup, spoon and fork next to bowl.eMuseum Notes
New Mexico-based artist Victoria Carlson works within a tradition of satire in art in her series Contortionists, which includes this work. With her Contortionists, she makes a commentary on human foibles, and her work has been interpreted as the contortionist poses reflecting some internal angst or confusion. She titles these works within the framework of sins and merits, suggesting that the distorted poses of these characters is not just individual but relates in some way to the human condition.
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