Talking Zavitz

Zavitz Gallery Features “Apropos”

This week, Zavitz Gallery features Apropos, an exhibition of paintings by Emma Carney. It opened on Sept. 29 and runs until Oct. 3. I wandered through the gallery with my friend Susan Winters, a Geography major, talking about each piece in turn. This is a selection from that conversation:

Susan: At first glance, I’m not crazy about them. I feel like, at least in my mind, more abstract, modern things have this almost Scandinavian principle of being clean and crisp and precise. This is kind of taking that structure, but then it’s not any of those things and it seems really messy. I feel like it should be hanging in a Starbucks.

Will: [Laughter] Fighting words!

Susan: And now I feel bad. It doesn’t really seem like there’s a purpose for these lines except to be controversial in some kind of way, which I guess it kind of is.

Will: What do you think about the relationship between the different elements in the painting? The harder lines and then the backgrounds?

Susan: I feel like they contradict each other. It looks like a jail to me.

Will: If you could characterize this painting as a kind of person, what would you say?

Susan: I feel like it’s the type of person that is very vibrant on the outside and outgoing, and tries to put out this image of being deep and tortured and whatnot, but on the inside they’re just kind of boring. Do you know those people that are all about the front? And when you get down to the nitty-gritty, they’re not boring, they just don’t have their s*** together. I feel terrible. I feel like she’s going to read this and say, “This girl doesn’t know s***.” I think she’s got a good idea, she just doesn’t have it developed enough yet really to run with it. It’s like how for The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan is like the warm-up to Icky Thump. I feel like when you listen to that album, you can tell Jack is really trying to get at something there, but he doesn’t quite hit it. She’s got this good idea whirling in the back of her head, but she’s still refining it. So, good effort. Just wasn’t feeling it.