George Tooker displays conformity in a different piece of his called Government Bureau. The painting was done on egg tempera on wood, and it is currently located in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In the painting, there are lines of men and women that seem to go on forever, and none of the faces of the people are shown. Also, there are workers behind glass boxes that are unidentifiable, and the only visible parts of their body are their eyes and hands, sometimes even their nose or one of their ears.
Only dull and dim shades of brown, pink, orange, green, and beige are used in Tooker’s painting. However, the bright red of the scarves on some of the women’s heads contrast with the dull colors of their clothing and of the building. The light at the top of the painting balances out with the dark found near the bottom. The appearance of the booths that the employees are working in seems to have the texture of wood. The long lines, the booths, the support beams on the ceiling, and the lights make it seem like the space beyond the painting goes on indefinitely. The form of the building is not very distinct, so it basically can be any type of building. Since none of the people in line has bent knees, raised feet, or shadows pointing in a certain direction, it’s easy to tell that none of the people in line are moving. Tooker uses realism in his painting, since long lines are very common in public buildings, such as the one displayed in this painting. The foreground of the painting is a man with short, blonde hair and a brown trench coat who is not standing in line. The foreground is placed close to two men who look exactly like him. Nobody in the painting has their own identifiable face, putting emphasis on the fact that they cannot be distinguished from each other.
The focal point of this painting is the man in the brown coat in the center of the painting. He looks just like the other people in the painting, but the one thing that makes him stick out is the fact that he isn't in a line. This could represent that the man is starting to break away from the conformity that is taking place. At first, the message is not noticeable, so maybe the artist could have portrayed it in a more obvious way. Other than that, this is a powerful peice and an excellent example of conformity.Only dull and dim shades of brown, pink, orange, green, and beige are used in Tooker’s painting. However, the bright red of the scarves on some of the women’s heads contrast with the dull colors of their clothing and of the building. The light at the top of the painting balances out with the dark found near the bottom. The appearance of the booths that the employees are working in seems to have the texture of wood. The long lines, the booths, the support beams on the ceiling, and the lights make it seem like the space beyond the painting goes on indefinitely. The form of the building is not very distinct, so it basically can be any type of building. Since none of the people in line has bent knees, raised feet, or shadows pointing in a certain direction, it’s easy to tell that none of the people in line are moving. Tooker uses realism in his painting, since long lines are very common in public buildings, such as the one displayed in this painting. The foreground of the painting is a man with short, blonde hair and a brown trench coat who is not standing in line. The foreground is placed close to two men who look exactly like him. Nobody in the painting has their own identifiable face, putting emphasis on the fact that they cannot be distinguished from each other.
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