Untitled, (Flood, black triangle), from Green Zone 2004

Editor: Here we have Wanda Koop's "Untitled, (Flood, black triangle), from Green Zone," created in 2004 using watercolor. The large black rectangle dominates the misty cityscape, almost like a censor. What are your thoughts on this intriguing piece? Curator: Well, first off, let’s consider the materials themselves. Koop uses watercolor here, traditionally seen as a delicate medium. What does it mean to depict, potentially, a dystopian future, or environmental anxiety, using such materials? Doesn't that create a striking contrast between subject and medium? Editor: That's interesting. So, it’s less about the 'what' and more about 'how' it's made? Curator: Exactly. Think about the production of watercolor paints. They require specific resources, often pigments sourced globally. What does it mean to use these globally sourced materials to depict what seems to be ecological unease or a critique of global development in the Green Zone series? Is Koop perhaps hinting at the consumption that underlies even artistic creation? Editor: So, the social context in which the art is made, like globalization and trade, is just as important as the art itself. I hadn’t really considered that. Curator: Precisely! And the black triangle. It’s flat, obscuring, and seemingly man-made against that diluted wash of color that conjures that almost post-apocalyptic scene, which might even lead us to discuss what are we really looking at; nature being overtaken? It also forces the viewer to confront it; to actively engage with the tension between natural degradation and industrialization, or perhaps censorship and forced urban renewal. How does that interplay speak to consumerism in 2004 when it was made? Editor: This has really made me think about the materials that artists choose and the stories those choices tell. Thanks for illuminating that for me. Curator: My pleasure!