Leah Probst

Working Class Clown

The underlying inspiration for this piece was the history of the circus as the show Corteo is based so heavily on the traditional circus. Performers who worked in shows like these were of course historically marginalized and vulnerable people. This character has been always romanticized, but the history is a troubled one too. The viewer is able to read his sorrowful face and honor the strong and passionate lifestyle of a clown who is losing hold of his very profession, which has a very long and very complicated history. Clown paintings in themselves carry with them the unfortunate association of non-serious 'kitch' art, however my work is the exact opposite as it was created from very serious and unfortunate real life events – loss of work due to the global pandemic.

“This particular clown is identified as “the Dreamer Clown” in the show Corteo. I thought the name was fitting for my particular painting and concept. After showing it to Mauro – the clown himself, he told me he calls the piece “Working Class Clown”, so I decided to honor his choice and rename it.”