Curator, Anne Umland: One of the things that is interesting to me about this picture is the way that at first you look at it and you think, oh, it's a bright landscape, green grass, pretty colors. But then as you look closer, how many strange things can you find?
Learning Specialist, Emma Waldman: Like this purple cauldron on the left-hand side of the painting. And then there's this more murky and brown and dark world beneath the surface, full of what looks to be bats and birds and other creatures below.
Anne Umland: Leonora Carrington was a British-born painter and writer associated with the surrealist movement. The Surrealists wanted to suggest that there's always more than meets the eye, there are always hidden connections between seemingly disparate things.
Emma Waldman: One of the ways Carrington connects the different details in this painting is through her life story. Because our identity is shaped a lot by what we have experienced before and our memories.
Anne Umland: The landscape in the background is related to the countryside of England, where she grew up. The figure at left in this strange cowhide jacket, standing there with arms crossed. This figure is often identified with the artist herself.
Emma Waldman: The article of clothing this character is wearing is a straightjacket, which is a reference to the time that Carrington spent in a mental health facility. So she's putting her experiences, her feelings into this painting.
Let’s think about an experience that is reflective of who you are. What symbols or details would you use to represent that experience?