Red paste paper with wavy line design 1700 - 1800

Editor: We’re looking at a piece called "Red paste paper with wavy line design," made sometime in the 18th century. It’s anonymous, housed here at the Met, and it feels…earthy? The lines almost look like tiny riverbeds seen from above. What do you see in this work? Curator: Riverbeds! I love that, because to me it evokes something primordial. Think about the origins of art, those early cave paintings, mark-making…This is like a secret language, or perhaps a pattern from nature, almost like a microscopic view of something. Editor: A secret language… It does have a certain mystery. But also, it's on paper. Was it meant to be decorative? Curator: Possibly, yes! Paper like this would often have been used for bookbinding, for lining drawers, that sort of thing. The process itself is beautiful, sort of like marbling – playful gestures creating unexpected results. I wonder, could you recreate this in your kitchen with food coloring? Editor: Food coloring paste paper. That sounds messy! But I can almost picture the process… Curator: And there’s a parallel. Think of the “hand” of the artist… How different is it, really, from what any of us do when we let a bit of sauce swirl into a dish, watch the coffee bloom in hot water? We’re all makers of fleeting, everyday beauty. Editor: That's a really lovely thought, actually. I came expecting a stuffy history lesson, and now I'm thinking about my morning coffee. Curator: Art, after all, should be an everyday experience, just like coffee or sauce. If it isn't part of the everyday, is it really art?