Sketch for Lower Part of ‘Our Tree of Life’ 1962

Editor: Here we see Jacques Lipchitz's plaster sketch for the lower part of ‘Our Tree of Life’. It's rough, immediate. The texture is very present. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the raw labor involved in its creation, don't you? The material itself, plaster, is inexpensive, meant for process, not presentation. How does this impact your understanding of the final bronze sculpture it was intended to become? Editor: That's interesting. So, it's almost like the sketch is highlighting the means of production. I hadn't thought about the social implications of the material choices. Curator: Precisely. Lipchitz is prompting us to consider not just the "high art" object, but the entire system of making, the economic underpinnings of art itself. What have you learned? Editor: I'll definitely rethink how I perceive the value and meaning of art in the context of the artist's material choices. Curator: And I will consider the role of the sketch as a valuable artifact.