Jive Band c. 1930s

Editor: Here we have Leonard Pytlak’s “Jive Band,” a print from around the 1930s. The figures are so lively! It's this fantastic snapshot of musical energy. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: The magic really lies in considering how Pytlak has created this work. It’s a print, likely a serigraph, and we can delve into the labor involved. It suggests a kind of democratisation of artmaking. We have an accessibility here that was counter to some of the art world at the time. Notice the deliberate crudeness in the forms themselves. Editor: Interesting. So you’re saying that the medium is part of the message? That choosing to make a print, rather than, say, a painting, says something about the art and its context? Curator: Exactly! This would be purchased, circulated, consumed. Think about what else was being circulated at this time: music, fashion. All these elements form the experience of culture in a lived and material way. The relatively simple forms almost act as if mimicking ‘low’ art as opposed to more classical work. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. It sounds almost radical, taking music and showing musicians, and distributing multiples through printing? The Art Deco aesthetic also emphasizes its time, too. I hadn’t thought of it in terms of accessibility before. Curator: Think of the resources—or lack of resources—Pytlak may have faced and his audience likely had. The artist elevates everyday music by depicting working-class musicians, but doesn't hide its roots, it isn't something overly manufactured. We begin to think of value outside just of artistic "talent." Editor: I never thought about art from the viewpoint of labour and resources like that before. I appreciate how much your perspective shifts the focus from the surface to the real, tangible creation!