Peace Cadet 2022

Editor: Here we have Rose Freymuth-Frazier’s 2022 acrylic painting, "Peace Cadet." It’s certainly a… colorful piece, with an astronaut figure holding what appears to be a flower-shooting gun, plus a rabbit! What strikes you about the materiality and the making of this painting? Curator: The initial question for me is always, how does the artist use their materials to comment on broader issues? Look at the slickness of the acrylic paint mimicking mass-produced images. Notice how that contrasts with the utopian idealism symbolized by the space suit. It seems that Freymuth-Frazier uses readily available, contemporary materials to hint at consumer culture. Editor: I see what you mean. The smoothness almost feels like it could be a print. And what about the rabbits? Curator: The inclusion of rabbits offers a lens into production. Think about the artist’s labour here - perhaps Freymuth-Frazier references the rapid reproduction associated with these creatures. A similar dynamic of rapid expansion, consumerism and technology is explored, I wonder what connection is being implied here by the artist through their juxtaposition in terms of production and labor. Editor: So you’re suggesting the rabbits tie into ideas about rapid reproduction…linking living things to manufacturing processes? Curator: Precisely. The artist positions painting itself as a mode of production. What processes of artistic and object manufacture are alluded to in the painting and subject itself, given the connection of "cadets" with labour movements? It isn't only about *what* is represented, but *how* it is made and how that relates to larger systems. Editor: That’s really changed how I see the painting. I was so caught up in the imagery; I hadn’t considered the social context imbued within the painting itself. Curator: Seeing art through the lens of production offers a far richer, more socially relevant understanding.