Quarry (Carriere) 

Editor: This is "Quarry" by Joseph Hecht, made using etching. It looks like an abandoned worksite with carved stones strewn across the ground, all in stark lines. What catches your eye in this image? Curator: The geometric tension, definitely. The contrast between the ordered, almost clinical precision of the carved stone and the wild abandon of the landscape it's been pulled from, there's a visual paradox. It almost makes you feel complicit. Do you ever get that feeling, looking at land art or environmental commentary pieces? That unsettling question of 'am I admiring a tragedy?' Editor: I see what you mean. It feels…cold? I hadn't thought about the tragedy angle, but the geometric shapes DO feel brutal against nature. Like it’s a forceful imposition. Curator: Forceful is a good word. I wonder about the choice of medium, too. Etching allows for incredibly fine detail. He could’ve gone soft, romantic even, but he chose to render a stark realism. And within that sharp definition… Well, there's commentary lurking. The tiny human figure there, practically swallowed up by the scene? A quiet commentary on scale and purpose. Is this progress or plunder? He leaves us to wrestle with it, I think. Editor: It's strange, because it feels desolate, but it isn't without a strange beauty. The landscape is quite serene in contrast. It makes it complex, definitely something I'd like to keep in mind as I study art. Curator: Serene is another good word. A visual oxymoron, isn't it? And art – isn’t it meant to offer these kinds of internal conversations with ourselves? Like the stones from the Quarry – carved from one place, but used to build new ways of seeing and understanding!