Cobalt Violet #2 

Editor: This is "Cobalt Violet #2" made by Le Franc. There's something so clinical about the presentation; it's a vial of pure pigment next to a color calibration chart. What am I looking at here? Curator: It's a fascinating object when considered through the lens of materiality and labor. Who mined the cobalt? Who processed it? Consider the historical context; industrialization enabled mass production of pigments, yet artists still grapple with the implications of these "manufactured" colors. What does it mean to have art supplies produced by factories rather than created from scratch? Editor: So, it's not just about the color itself, but the system that produces it? Curator: Exactly! And how that system shapes our understanding and experience of art. Editor: I never thought of it that way. I'm seeing this pigment in a completely different light.