Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Park 

Curator: What an evocative piece! This is “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Park” attributed to Thomas Moran. Editor: It certainly is…striking! The color palette is intense, almost theatrical, creating a really dramatic vista. There is definitely something sublime happening, perhaps an attempt at revealing pure aesthetics. Curator: Exactly, and what makes it striking is Moran's background. This painting fits firmly within the Hudson River School tradition. However, one might also analyze the way his depictions influenced tourism, conservation efforts, and of course, the romanticized notions of the American West that pervaded throughout popular culture during this period, too. How the very act of painting shapes public and environmental policy… Fascinating! Editor: It’s the composition as much as the context. The way he uses the play of light and shadow. Note how light creates almost monumental forms of the geological structure…It directs our eye to the central waterfall. Semiotically, we know water suggests notions of movement, purification…Life, really. Curator: I wonder about his choice of watercolors, too, for such a monumental scene. Was this the method that allowed him a specific luminosity? Given that he made promotional materials, it may be that watercolor was selected because it lent itself to efficient modes of mechanical reproduction. Editor: I am compelled by how the sublime grandeur translates visually. Perhaps if you are interested in the labor, you could consider Moran's unique treatment of line. Curator: Line is fascinating! Indeed, maybe line allows you to bring out the social milieu it stems from… Food for thought, indeed. Editor: Agreed. Thanks to its visual vocabulary and the rich theoretical avenues to investigate it, this work feels relevant even now.