Dancing and Singing (Peasants Returning from Work) (detail 2) 

Ma Yuan made this ink-wash painting on silk during the Song Dynasty. With absorbent properties, the silk support allows the ink to bleed, creating a soft, atmospheric quality. The process involves layering washes of ink to build up tonal depth, a time-honored tradition in Chinese landscape painting. Look closely, and you'll see the meticulous brushwork used to define the figures and the landscape elements. The artist uses delicate strokes to capture the texture of the rocks and the flow of the water, contrasted by the quick, spontaneous marks suggesting the peasants' joy. The silk's smooth surface enables fluid brushstrokes and allows for subtle gradations of tone, enhancing the artwork's expressive qualities. In its time, this painting would have been seen as an elevated form of art, unlike other forms of making associated with manual labor. Yet, the reality of this type of artwork is that it relied on the skilled labor of those who prepared the silk and ink, and the unseen work of those who harvested these materials. Thinking about materials, making, and context helps us see beyond traditional ideas about art and craft.