One Surrealist a Day
because we all need to dream a little
Reality is an Invention, Balthus by Joel-Peter Witkin, 2008. There’s a clear reference to Balthus’s The Street in which the street-goers are ignorant of a violent sexual struggle going on on the painting’s left side.1 Witkin is a bit more forward with his version. I saw the referenced work at MOMA-NYC. First, it is enormous. It’s size is crucial to its effect because it makes it possible to become enveloped by the painting. The viewer can put themselves on the street and also “ignore” the rape scene on the left. At first you find yourself wondering why that painting is in MOMA, and after a moment of study an erie feeling washes over you as you realize what you were ignoring. It’s incredible. ↩

Reality is an Invention, Balthus by Joel-Peter Witkin, 2008.

There’s a clear reference to Balthus’s The Street in which the street-goers are ignorant of a violent sexual struggle going on on the painting’s left side.1 Witkin is a bit more forward with his version.

  1. I saw the referenced work at MOMA-NYC. First, it is enormous. It’s size is crucial to its effect because it makes it possible to become enveloped by the painting. The viewer can put themselves on the street and also “ignore” the rape scene on the left. At first you find yourself wondering why that painting is in MOMA, and after a moment of study an erie feeling washes over you as you realize what you were ignoring. It’s incredible. ↩

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