Dimensions: support: 131 x 182 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have John Varley’s "Thames Wharves and Barges." It's a small drawing, and the somber color makes me think of industry and labor. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a study in the industrial landscape and its impact on society. The artist’s focus on the wharves and barges highlights the means of commerce, labor and the network of material exchange that characterized this era. How does the monochromatic color palette influence your understanding of the labor depicted? Editor: It makes me think about the relentless nature of the work, almost like the color has been drained from their lives. Curator: Precisely! And the emphasis on these structures prompts us to consider the environmental and social costs associated with industrial progress. Editor: That's a powerful way to look at it. Thanks for pointing out those connections! Curator: My pleasure. Considering the material realities behind art transforms our view.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/varley-thames-wharves-and-barges-t09320
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The watercolour painter John Varley was a contemporary of Turner. He specialised in rural, historic and ideal scenes, but he also often returned to subjects drawn from the commercial life of the river Thames. In these he would tend to focus on old buildings and modest riverside activity that conformed to the ideals of the Picturesque. However, the sense of spontaneity conveyed by this sketch suggests that even the most trivial details of urban life could be of intrinsic visual interest. Gallery label, August 2004
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