The Parsonage Garden in the Snow 1885

Editor: This graphite drawing from 1885, "The Parsonage Garden in the Snow" by Vincent van Gogh, is surprisingly stark. It looks more like an abstract study than a detailed landscape. What jumps out at you? Curator: Well, focusing on the materiality, consider graphite: a relatively cheap, easily accessible medium. Why graphite? What was Van Gogh able to accomplish using readily available means of production to study or portray? Editor: It’s interesting that you frame it in terms of what was *available* to Van Gogh. I guess I always just assume artists choose materials freely. Curator: Perhaps not entirely. What does the physical act of repetitive sketching – think about the labor involved – suggest about Van Gogh's process here? Is this rapid mark-making a symptom of resource constraints or evidence of exploration? Editor: It definitely seems like exploration. There's a looseness, especially with how he renders the trees. He’s not precious about representing them perfectly. Maybe he was more concerned with capturing a feeling. Curator: Exactly. Now, connect that ‘feeling’ to the socio-economic landscape. How might his limited means have informed, not restricted, that emotional expression? Think about his social context: the art world, the economy, access… Editor: So, are you suggesting that Van Gogh's financial or social situation—his being on the periphery, in some ways—actually fueled his artistic style? He used what he had around him? Curator: Precisely. By engaging in available materials he makes visible a type of labor that is critical for materialist analysis. This kind of work blurs conventional distinctions between 'high' art and common practices. Editor: That makes so much sense. I hadn't considered the significance of his material choices beyond just artistic preference. Thank you for sharing. Curator: The pleasure was all mine. It is about examining labor, the materiality of artwork, and socioeconomic context.