Breathing Grass 

Curator: Looking at this drawing, titled "Breathing Grass", I find it very evocative. A field of possibilities opens up just looking at this small printed picture. Editor: There’s something ethereal about it. The stark contrast and fine lines create an almost dreamlike quality. The whole thing breathes… but with a certain disquiet. Curator: It's interesting that you mention the idea of something more abstract as this work uses techniques from etching, engraving and drawing, which lends a sense of organic texture to these printed works. There is figuration at play, certainly, but it is not overt. Editor: That is precisely where I'm pulled into its symbolic density! Those stylized fronds, those seed-like shapes...they speak of primal forces. There's a definite link to fertility symbolism and a sense of vitalism inherent in all nature, don't you think? Curator: It certainly invites such an interpretation. Hugo was working at a time when organic abstraction was really gaining momentum, so this print fits within the discourse around depicting interior states of mind or subconsciousness, where things are represented rather than realistically portrayed. Editor: Right, the stylized organic forms could represent unseen, subconscious states and processes in flux. They resonate so much with botanical illustrations that were central to the visual culture for centuries...yet abstracted into something stranger. Curator: That tension between representation and abstraction I think allows for varied cultural perspectives as these become the central interest for us now. To what extent does such imagery have a specific association with different populations of people in its time. Editor: Absolutely! The symbolic meaning is layered. From a cultural studies viewpoint, we can explore how the very act of visualizing ‘breathing grass’ reflects a broader desire to capture and comprehend nature's power and persistence over time. Curator: That seems to me to highlight this beautiful combination of nature and visual forms as part of the print process. I'll never quite look at this scene in the same way again. Editor: Agreed. This close looking has revealed so many connections between nature and symbolism for me. A potent piece.