Air Conditioner

Natalie Pivoney’s aesthetic prowess is matched only by the wealth of societal incites it conveys. Air Conditioner is a perfect example of Pivoney’s impressive ability to communicate deeply intricate meditations on the human condition and contemporary culture through deceptively quotidian scenes. I think posing prescient and expansive questions and conveying important and honest critiques through relatable and unembellished subject matter are among the most admirable and compelling avenues of artistic expression.  

Who would have thought two abandoned air conditioners rusting in an innocuous suburban backdrop could inspire such a wealth of reflection and debate (I do not say “debate” facetiously as I have already had such a heated but constructive dialogue with a friend about the work that it delayed my writing)? The answer is simple: Natalie Pivoney. While brilliantly inscribed to canvas, Air Conditioner does not rely on flourishes of form and color to draw in the viewer but, instead, its inanimate subjects.

We leave so much behind and try as we might to reuse and maintain our possessions, an inevitable trail of refuse follows us wherever we go. However, whether one is concerned about the tsunamis of garbage that flood with varying but nearly ubiquitous consistency from our homes, we can't really blame ourselves. Beyond completely removing oneself from society, how will anyone avoid contributing to the proliferation of waste? In a culture that prioritizes the shine of the new over the maintenance and improvement of the old, and where planned obsolescence has triumphed over sustained durability, the individual has no choice but to participate in some degree of the culturally mandated excess. The proof of this predicament is evidenced in Pivoney’s lonely pair of air conditioners whose previous owner attempted to pass the ball of waste to whoever might walk by and bring home two broken air conditioners.