Untitled 1976

Editor: This untitled piece by Ivon Hitchens is currently at the Tate. I’m struck by the materiality of the paint, thick strokes, and how the brushwork constructs the image. What do you see in this piece that helps us understand its meaning? Curator: Consider the artist's labor: the application of paint, the deliberate choice of tools. How do these material decisions reflect the social context of art production at the time? Is Hitchens challenging traditional notions of 'high art' by foregrounding the materiality of paint itself? Editor: So, by focusing on how it was made, we shift the focus from a simple landscape to understanding the artist's process. Curator: Exactly. The 'what' becomes less important than the 'how' and 'why'. Editor: I never would have considered the economic side of it all. Thanks for the new perspective. Curator: Likewise! It's a different way to approach understanding the work.