Studie af et kirkerum, Bjernede kirke? 1912

Curator: This unassuming sketch offers such a quiet mystery. We’re looking at "Studie af et kirkerum, Bjernede kirke?", which translates to “Study of a Church Interior, Bjernede Church?" made by Agnes Slott-Møller in 1912. Editor: Intimacy, yes? That's what strikes me first. It’s just…lines, so faint, yet they speak of immense, solid forms. The implied labor involved in raising these arches... one can almost feel it! Curator: Indeed. Agnes, of course, was part of the Symbolist movement, even though her artistry touched on so many styles. The form of things was very important to her and that simple line really shows us everything that form holds for her. I wonder what brought her to Bjernede Church. It is a peculiar church, very old... Editor: Old stone. Think of the quarry. The tools... I wonder what kind of pencils she was using, if you look closely there are many small strokes... all made by hand of course. All those trips from site to shop or home. Even the paper has texture. Curator: Absolutely, the repetitive labor that would result in paper sturdy enough to accept her thoughts is no small thing! The lines themselves speak volumes, too, don't they? There is a lovely intimacy and the lines repeat like prayers in an almost musical form. Editor: A choir of arches. The marks accumulate like layers of sediment, time rendered in graphite. Did she labor over it for days, weeks? I'm interested in this record of labor that drawing leaves on paper! Curator: Well, even if we can’t know the duration with any certainty, it has left us this potent echo of space and intention. You’ve grounded us marvelously in the physicality of its making and I’m walking away considering all the labor – physical and spiritual – locked within it. Editor: I am moved by our material contact and the potential ways this contact shapes our view.