You’ve Been There All Along 

Editor: Here we have "You’ve Been There All Along," a mixed-media piece by Cassidy Rae Marietta. It feels almost like a tapestry, a very decorative flat image. What can you tell me about the materials and context? Curator: Well, I see this as a potent example of how contemporary art grapples with the blurring of high art and craft. The “mixed-media” tag is key. How were these colors achieved? Are we looking at digital prints, hand-painted elements, or a combination? Understanding the means of production shifts our perception from mere image to considering the labor involved. Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn’t really considered the production itself. What does it mean to blend a digital cartoon-style aesthetic with a kind of folk-art decorative approach? Curator: The artist appropriates recognizable elements from low-brow cartoon like features which challenge preconceived notions of artistic skill. Further, the nude figure adorned with tattoo-like floral patterns brings in elements of the body as canvas, playing with notions of consumption and display. Do you see how the folk-art aspects might intersect with contemporary consumption patterns? Editor: I suppose it comments on how we consume images and ideas, blending styles and traditions to create something new and marketable? The flowers feel kind of like branding almost? Curator: Precisely. The choice of materials and how they’re assembled reflects a negotiation with market demands and artistic expression, wouldn’t you say? The cartoon caricature also challenges the 'traditional' understanding of nudes. Editor: That makes sense. Thinking about it this way definitely gives me a deeper understanding than just looking at the surface of the image. I will be pondering those nuances. Curator: Exactly. By focusing on the “how” and “why” of the artmaking process, we begin to appreciate the artist's engagement with broader cultural and economic forces. It is much more about its role in contemporary material culture.