seurat was incredibly prescient in how he assessed modern life. the alienation, anonymity and psychological stresses associated with urban living r now well-established. he also grasped the drudgery of assembly-line/factory work. as the week became timed and work and leisure became compartmentalized, the joylessness of recreation became apparent to him. it is uncanny that even though it’s the weekend (a time delineated for restful leisure) the figures in “la grande jatte” seem to strike poses. this is reminiscent of modern day voguing or even reality tv. the most intimate human spaces have now become public. as we expect to be constantly in the public realm, it becomes important to project a certain image, to strike endless poses.
this sense of social disconnectedness is further explored in another painting called “the circus,” which is emblematic of what entertainment has become – a spectacle to be imbibed by a passive audience, a precursor of tv-induced mind-numbness or of political “performance” for that matter.