Critique #1

Conformity is displayed in "The Subway", which is painted by George Tooker. In the painting, there is a frightened looking woman walking down a brightly lit hallway. On either side of her, she is surrounded by people who look very much alike. The exits out of the hallway all seem to be barred off, leaving no escape.

In the painting, there is not constant plane. There are several points of elevation and depression, and there are not many flat areas. However, the hallway behind the woman seems to stretch on indefinitely. The shadows around the people's feet and their bent knees indicate that some of the passengers are moving around. Tooker only uses bright and bold colors in this painting. The flourescently lite hallway creates a cold environment in the painting contrasts with the bold colors of the people's coats. Also, the barred off sections and the bright lights give the subway the appearance of a prison. The emphasis of the painting is clearly on the woman with the frightened expression. She is placed closest to the viewer, strategically positioned between two men who look like clones of each other. Even though the colors of her clothing are the same, her expression is what makes her stand out.

Judging by her expression and her hand on her stomach, the woman appears to be sickened by what she sees. She is most likely sickened by the fact that everyone around her is basically the same. The closed off sections of the subway seem to show that the woman cannot escape her surroundings. I think that the painting is supposed to represent Tooker's fear of conformity and how he feels that we cannot escape it. I feel that Tooker displayed his point about conformity greatly in this painting,. However, it would have been more effective if he made everyone around the woman look exactly the same, instead of having minor differences. George Tooker displays conformity in his painting named "The Subway".