Bowdoin

Fantastical Fables as told through illustrations by Amy Cutler speak as to how illustration is a social medium used to convey messages from the artist to the viewer. The medium itself is the means of expressing those ideas in a way that people might understand or in some circumstances might not understand what is being presented to them. Although for some viewers Amy Cutler's illustrations might not reveal their meanings right away, the first thing someone notices when they stand up close and look carefully is the attention to detail. The way in which firgures are posed speaks to their emotions as well as the dresses or clothes that they are wearing.
The gouache on paper was very nice to see because of its versatility through detailing to background washes that set a toned mood in a piece. The detailing helps tell what the artist wanted to show, whether it be human interaction with animals or each other as was evident in some of Amy Cutler's pieces.
One of the pieces entitled "Dinner Party" was interesting to look at because of the depiction of food and dishes falling to the floor along with the table cloth which had animals that looked as though they were falling to the floor through the table cloth, as if the table cloth were a waterfall, if that makes sense. The falling and cascading motion was enhanced along with the rest of the piece because of the four figures of he ladies that were at the dinner party that had somehow gotten the chairs and silverware entangled in their hair.
Another piece that I found amusing was one titled "Hen House". In it there are small hens that can be seen inside of the upper door of the barn where they have little human heads with bonets.

Amy Cutler really seems to add a couple elements to make her pieces. One being the personal things involved in making the pieces, the memories of hard times and struggles and the second being a little sprinkling of the surreal when animal take on human characteristics and when humans take on animal characteristics like in the piece where the women are behaving like beavers. The humans and animals in the pieces seem to compliment one another and the works are reminiscent of Animal Farm.