Josh Setton

In my recent visit to the Queens Museum of Art’s Caribbean exhibit, two pieces of art stuck out to me.

The first of those pieces, Abate Antonio Jose de Cavanilles, was made my the columbian artist Salvador Rizo (1768- 1816) in 1801.

This oil on canvas displays the abbot examining a botanical specimen while taking down notes- perhaps of a scientific nature. The portrait as a darker tone, and is pretty average in most respects, giving the work a feeling of solemnity.

The painting is based on true occurrences. The abbot pictured was, in fact, the namer of countess plants and substantially contributed to early floral understanding of the Americas. Fascinatingly, the abbot later named the specimen he is examing Rizoa- after the artist himself.

What stood out to me about the seemingly ordinary piece was the scientific nature of it. The piece provides an insight into the start of discoveries in new lands and how important these discoveries were. The artist also managed to beautifully capture the thoughtfulness of the abbot.

The second piece I chose is The Goat With Two Heads by Georges Liautaud, a Haitian artist who lived from 1889- 1991. The piece is a wrought iron created in 1961.

This interesting piece depicts a two-headed goat standing on its two legs, much like a human being. What attracting me to the piece is the plain iron which leaves so much open to interpretation. The goat can be taken as being festive, mournful, angry- almost every emotion can be seen within the piece. The piece also hints to a conflict of sorts, as the heads face in opposing directions.

One possible interpretation of the piece brings back Dionysian themes. The piece causes one to recall a Satyr- the Greek representative of the wild nature of man. The two heads can be taken to be a rendering of man’s struggle with his very own mind- the fight to control ones wilder side. Man is in constant struggle to control his will, emotions and actions and become an educated, refined being. This two headed goat can be see as a depiction of the nature of such struggles- man is, in essence, fighting against himself.