If Not, Not - R. B. Kitaj

The name of the painting currently on the blog is If Not, Not and it's by R. B. Kitaj. It is very interesting and does have many similarities to T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. The painting has many separate parts which add up to make the whole. You can see an overwhelming notion of unhappiness. There are the effects of industry shown in the "river". There are fires and smoke in the background. The trees do not look healthy and there aren't many signs of life. The people are deformed and seem to be lying on the ground or even dead. The couple in the left seem to be carrying on a meaningless relationship. There are probably other similarities to Eliot that I missed.