Transition

Ever since he began his career in the 1950s, Sidney Goodman has preferred to work with a figurative imagery that invites multiple interpretations. Transition is the central painting of three separate, monumental canvases that were composed as a unit. All three show a rugged, mountainous landscape with an enigmatic human presence.
 
Typically, Goodman is explicit about some facts and open-ended about others. For example, who are the dark, tortured souls embedded in rock on the left? The artist offers only a partial answer by juxtaposing their nocturnal realm with the rosy colors of dawn on the right, symbolizing a passage from despair to hope.
 
A red, white, and blue stake marks the center of the composition. A little girl, modeled on the artist's daughter, is the only person who seems aware of our presence. The head jutting from the rock below her resembles the artist himself.