Author: Ryan Horowitz

Ryan Horowitz, Seated Woman

1 Immediate Response

Immediately after seeing the piece Seated Woman by Omar Aqil, I felt it was a very modern work of art. I tried piecing together what each item in the sculpture is, however nothing made sense to me right away. I could tell there is a face formed in a triangle with a misplaced nose, yet the face seems very happy. After seeing the piece compared with Pablo Picasso’s Seated Woman, it became clear what each object was supposed to represent in the original painting. Aqil’s version seems to a more upbeat, modern version.


2 Objective Description

Seated Woman by Omar Aqil is a sculpted version of Pablo Picasso’s Seated Woman. The body of the seated woman looks just like a vase yet all together with her head almost seems like an ear bud. The head is a clear triangle with relatively sharp corners and a horizonal egg looking face. Her nose is placed above the eyes which are completely vertical. In Aqil’s piece, the woman is placed in a plate like a plant and the chair is merely in the background. Immediately behind the woman is a tube-like object bent behind her head. This object in Picasso’s piece may be part of the background but the way Aqil used this is almost to act like a pillow.

3 Technical Decisions

Aqil’s Seated Woman is presented as a sculpture in a gallery. The background behind the sculpture is build to resemble the wall behind the woman in Picasso’s piece. Some of the objects used are clearly just resting on the ground, however some of the objects such as the tube-like object I mentioned earlier, are not clear how they were assembled based off a picture of the sculpture. The face of the woman gives life to the inanimate objects which immediately catches the eye, and by using brighter reflective colors, the viewer is more inclined to study the piece and try to make sense of it.

4 The Work in The World

Aqil’s work shows a woman who is smiling, her smile is what stands out in the sculpture, nothing else is easily determined. This piece is very easy on the eyes, given its abstract features, it does not make you cringe. I relate this to how in the real world people are much more pleasant when they smile, an angry person is not an approachable person. The piece is meant to directly resemble Picasso’s Seated Woman 1930, however as a sculpture. Aqil’s version is brighter and more abstract.

5 The Story it Tells

This piece simply depicts a woman sitting in a chair, however given abnormal features, the only thing clear is the woman’s face and the fact that she is smiling. The first thing you see in a person is their facial expression reveling how they feel at the moment. This being said, Aqil’s piece tells us we should smile more and relax from negativity in our lives. I believe this because her smile is the only thing that was easily identifiable and stood out to me. The bright colors used compliment the overall mood of the sculpture and could relate to how our surroundings have an influence on our moods.