City Limits (1969) by Philip Guston
A Unique Examination of Violence and Mob Mentality
Philip Guston (1913–1980) was an abstract Expressionist American artist, the youngest of seven children born to Russian-Jewish parents who fled persecution in Europe in the early 1900s. He created his artwork “City Limits” in 1969, during a time of social and political upheaval and widespread violence against African Americans.
At first view, it looks like a joke. The car, with its big tractor tires, is absurd, almost ridiculous. The three hooded Ku Klux Klan figures look like clowns. They are squeezed into the car, looking straight ahead, disconnected, as if ready to cause trouble in town. I felt compelled to understand, to find out what it was like to be someone who wears a hood to conceal his individuality. They are units, impersonal, identical, disciplined, just stormtroopers, a mob composed not of individual people but of inhuman, perpetually replaceable units.
The background portrays an expansive cityscape, flooded with heavy brushstrokes of pink and deep red. These brushstrokes further contribute to the overall mood and intensify the unsettling atmosphere of the painting. It creates an oppressive ambience, a sense of intensity and urgency. When I first laid eyes on the painting, I felt a rush of strong emotions, including anger, frustration, and a sense of being completely disconnected from the artwork. Whenever I look at it, I see violence, hostility, and raw human emotions.