Blank page; verso: Male Portrait Head 1851

Curator: Looking at this work, "Blank page; verso: Male Portrait Head" by Sanford Robinson Gifford, I'm immediately struck by the contrast between the seeming emptiness of the page and the faint trace of a portrait on the other side. Editor: It’s a ghostly presence, isn't it? The textures of the paper itself become really prominent; I find myself focusing on the tooth of the page, the way it would have received the graphite. Curator: Exactly! The blankness allows us to consider the social function of portraiture itself. Who was Gifford attempting to capture, and why does only a trace remain? Does the absence speak to issues of power, visibility, and erasure? Editor: I see the materiality of the sketchbook page—its size, the binding—as suggestive of private practice, a space for working through ideas rather than making finished objects for consumption. Curator: I agree. It prompts questions about the artist's process, and how identity and representation are negotiated in the act of creation. Editor: It’s a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes. Curator: It really is, the glimpse behind the scenes revealing the means behind the artist’s method is always fascinating. Editor: A wonderful insight into Gifford's artistic practice.