George Segal (b. 1924, USA – d. 2000, USA)
The Movie Poster, 1967

I have not been very keen on Segal before. I guess, I was struggling to find an entry point for my curiosity. But this particular piece made an immediate connection to a number of other works already on my list, ranging from people looking at art (#239, #241) to art looking at art (#175). And thereby it also relates to my own photo series of people interacting with art.

But there is something more unsettling with art looking at art… I am not sure I can set my finger on what that is. It’s as if art is defying the frame, sneaking out into reality, suggesting some more sensed continuum between myself, human viewer and the artwork, via odd hybrids along the way… Or, perhaps it presents the artworld as hermetically closed from reality – art that is self-sufficient, producing even its own viewers… It’s disturbing, it’s thought provoking – in my book it’s good…