|
In Cock and Glove, Knaths investigates the spatial possibilities that stem from an odd placement of objects: a rooster atop a box looks at a farmer's glove, which appears to be inside the box as well as parallel to the picture plane. The interior of the box is also spatially ambiguous; while the warm tones defining the sides appear flat, the cool shades of the bottom recede into space. Even the perspective of the setting is distorted, seen here as flat in the lower left but receding in the upper right.
The concept for this composition may have resulted from an actual incident involving a rooster about to pounce on a farmer's glove. Knaths perhaps also intended the glove to be a metaphor for the American farmer. The curious juxtaposition of rooster and glove, however, may simply reflect the artist’s interest in the surreal style of Kuniyoshi, whose work he is known to have seen in gallery exhibitions.
|
