Curious Woman

Book Summary by: Edke

Original Author: Alan Jones

Summary rating: 5 stars (2 Ratings)
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The very first thing that catches the viewers’ eye is the triangle-composition, which includes the shape of

the lady, and just a challenging object is the ‘square’ projecting out of it in the top right-hand corner. It is connected to the right eye of the woman, so we cannot contact her totally. It leads our attention to that very impenetrable thing, which must play a significant role.
The square includes colours that also appear on the woman’s dress. There is green as on her bra, blue-like her panty, and red-just like the spots on her bra on the left side. Therefore, this strange object should be considered a palette, and the shape of the lady is formed from it. The incomplete presentation of the features expresses some kind of vagueness and artificiality.
Maybe the aim of the painter was to express the features of the ladies at that age (in the sixties or seventies), that they can be depicted easily wearing colourful clothes. To describe their personality it is absolutely enough to make a connection between them and a colourful palette. There are other features criticizing the ladies of the ‘consumerist society’.
For example, she consists of many parts totally linked together. But they are a bit scattered, as if they had nothing to do with each other. So the lady not may be well-balanced. The painter makes us feel this by the usage of montage that is typical of Pop-Art.
Another Pop-Art feature is that the woman is halved in a way. Just her left eye can be seen, because the other looks at the palette. Red spots are seen just on her left side. Her posture is strange and artificial, which expresses this division.
Another thing that can support this argument is the contrast between the woman and the background. A special feature is the wooden pattern, reminding us of nature, as opposed to the lady whose beauty is rather artificial. Being a child she was innocent and not influenced by the superficialities of the world, in one word she was more natural. But after having experienced the negative forces of the world, somehow she has been forced to assimilate into it.
The colours on her clothes are in disharmony, again suggesting that something is in disorder. Surprisingly, her hair is white. The painter may be trying to express that his model is timeless, because all the characteristics he depicts through symbolism is relevant for every woman.
Sexuality plays a great role in the picture. Her body is exaggerated in comparison with her face. The arms and legs are not represented, just those parts of the body that are more erotic. The emphasis is put on her hip, because a suspender is attached to it, and also on her breast, because that is the only thing represented in space. It is livelier than the other parts due to the effects of the darker and lighter shades. If we look downward, the body gets younger and younger. The climax is her tights.
The sleeves catching her waist cannot be the continuation of her arms, so she might be hugged by a man hidden behind her, and she also embraces the man. So the painting might represent an intimate moment.
As far as the topic is concerned, the painting reminds me of the works of Toulouse-Lautrec. He depicted depraved and loose women with blank stare. But if we focus on the posture and the message together, I associate this work with Rilke’s poem (Archaic Apollo Torso), because the poem describes a statue with mangled limbs, expressing sexuality.