Muzot #1 1987

Editor: Here we have Richard Deacon's "Muzot #1," a print from the Tate collection. The lines seem to map an unseen form, a ghost in the machine. What do you make of it? Curator: The emphasis here is on process. Look at the grid, the under-drawing. It reveals the labor and the structure inherent in Deacon's artistic production, almost more than the final, looping form itself. What materials and techniques do you think he used to make this? Editor: It looks like etching, maybe some drypoint for the heavier lines? It demystifies the art-making process, doesn't it? Curator: Exactly. By exposing the means of production, Deacon challenges the romantic ideal of the artist as a solitary genius. It's about the materiality and the making, not just the finished product. Editor: I see it. I had been focused on the form, but now I am thinking about the work it took to get there. Curator: And how that labor is inherently valuable.