Untitled #13 c. 1980s

Curator: Standing before us is Joel Fisher’s “Untitled #13,” an ink drawing on paper dating from the 1980s. Editor: It's incredibly minimal. A bit unsettling, perhaps even lonely, with just those sharp lines on such raw, organic-looking paper. Curator: Fisher's approach is really about the interplay of materials. He focuses on handmade paper, embedding it within a labor-intensive practice and elevating what's traditionally seen as mere support to the level of high art. Think about the unseen labor in creating that paper. Editor: Absolutely, and it brings to mind questions about access and privilege within the art world. Who gets to define what is considered “art,” and whose labor is valued, or conversely, rendered invisible in that definition? It challenges us to recognize that making art is connected to historical and power structures, not neutral or innocent. Curator: Exactly. The texture of the paper, flecked with fibers, invites close examination and contemplation of its own production process. That single drawn shape acts as both figure and intervention upon a surface already loaded with the evidence of labor. Editor: And that stark geometric form? It seems to contradict the organic nature of the paper itself, like an intrusion, almost industrial against something natural. It seems a statement against imposed form against organic creation. What implications could this image be implying regarding class struggles, access to raw materials, or the definition of beauty based on certain gender roles? Curator: Fisher used hand-made paper produced by various sources and imbued it with meaning in a new way. His approach democratized not just materials, but our relationship to the creative process. Editor: It really does underscore the ways in which art reflects and reinforces the social hierarchies of its time, yet with abstraction that makes space for deeper thought. Curator: Looking at this piece again, I’m struck by its unpretentious beauty. It embodies a dedication to its materiality and the unpretentious mark-making processes. Editor: It leaves me pondering those quiet battles between raw materials and imposed form, and the often-unseen hands that bring those elements together.