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ThreeMinuteModernist2022-UntitledDancingGirls-ErnestBriggs Mon, 8/15 10:50AM • 3:05 SUMMARY KEYWORDS figures, work, abstract, museum, fascinating, dynamic, british museum, inhabiting, dancing, sensation, briggs, bish, entire, representational, poses, women, canvas, garcia, indications, ernest SPEAKERS Christopher Garcia Christopher Garcia  Ernest Briggs is an artist I've been aware of mostly for his association with the abstract expressionists. The 1960s, work, Untitled dancing girls is fantastic. In that sort of way that Richard Diebenkorn or Elmer Bischoff, we're in their representational phases, Phil Gusman, to a degree as well. Here, it's eight figures, all nude dancing. And they're both women and men. And it's fascinating because, first off, there is a genuine sexuality to the entire thing. The men all have erections, the women are all exceptionally sexy. In a way, it seems to be referencing a lot of the works that we were beginning to see filter into museums from Thailand from India that were hyper-sexualized as they were presented. In those museum settings. You can still see it today at the British Museum for very good example. The poses are incredibly dynamic. But what's fascinating is the level of abstraction. Because while pretty much the entire anatomy is evident, the faces are abstracted greatly. And well, the surrounding portions of them have various paint indications. It's really just as if that is indicating where the figure is in front of as if they are not in the same scene. They are just being placed together with some of their evidence, I guess. It's a beautiful dynamic piece. But the sensation I get from it is what's interesting, because it is the sensation of poking through not necessarily of inhabiting a canvas but being inserted into the Canvas from something else. And the distortion of the face. It seems to indicate not that the figures are indistinct, but that they are not whole. That we are only catching a glimpse. That's powerful, powerful, artistic work. And it's one of the reasons why I'm going to be looking a lot more into earnest briggs

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