Untitled 1971

Editor: This piece, simply titled "Untitled" by Bernard Aubertin, created in 1971, appears to use mixed media and what looks like fumage. The dominant red is striking, almost aggressive. How do you interpret this work, considering its… stark simplicity? Curator: The redness, achieved through specific materials and industrial processes, speaks volumes. Was this red readily available, cheaply produced? How did its accessibility shape Aubertin’s artistic choices and, further, our understanding of consumption in the ‘70s? Consider the fumage – the use of smoke. Was it a controlled artistic practice or a more performative, even dangerous act? The resulting surface becomes evidence of a specific material interaction, not merely a picture. Editor: So, it's less about the image *of* something and more about the *process* and materials *themselves* doing the talking? Is the act of creating the artwork as important, or maybe even *more* important, than the finished piece? Curator: Exactly. Aubertin, working within Art Informel, challenged the conventional notions of artistic skill. Think about the labour involved: What kind of physical work goes into preparing the surface, controlling the fire? Is it solitary or collaborative? These choices reveal the artist's relationship to production and, by extension, the broader socio-economic context of the time. And that monochrome... is it a negation of traditional painting, a way to foreground the material properties? Editor: I never thought about it that way before, I was so focused on finding a meaning within the image. It’s interesting how looking at the materials and the methods transforms my understanding of the whole artwork. Curator: Indeed. It asks us to question what constitutes "art" and to value the process of making as much as the final object, broadening our appreciation to encompass the unseen labour and the socio-economic forces at play. Editor: It definitely gives a whole new depth and complexity to something that at first glance appears quite simple!