Diary and Shells 1972

Curator: Look at this mesmerizing dance between meticulous detail and free-flowing expression! Jörg Schmeisser’s “Diary and Shells,” created in 1972, presents a collection of organic forms using mixed media on toned paper. What a feast for the eyes! Editor: It is that! My first thought is how much it recalls natural history illustrations from centuries past, where specimens were meticulously recorded with the intention of categorizing and knowing the natural world through intense looking. Curator: Exactly. Schmeisser’s work breathes new life into this tradition! With pencil, ink, colored pencil, even watercolor bleed – a whirlwind of textures and shades converge to evoke the depths of both the ocean and the human mind. Editor: The shells evoke so many things—protection, fragility, home, the uncanny feeling of finding something discarded that once was animated. It feels significant to put these drawings in the context of the early 70s, a period of heightened environmental awareness alongside significant global social unrest. Curator: It almost reads like a palimpsest of sorts— layer upon layer of images create a kind of visual record of a mind at work, pondering the natural world! Look how he contrasts hard lines with watercolor washes, the miniature details balanced against vast, empty spaces. It feels almost…musical, don’t you think? Editor: I do. And consider that the inclusion of a ‘diary’ suggests a personal connection—linking the act of scientific observation to more subjective experience. It proposes the seemingly objective and external is inseparable from the artist’s own experiences and memories. Curator: There’s a quiet radicalness in that intimacy. Each shell holds a story. The act of documenting isn’t simply about scientific classification; it becomes a personal meditation on time, loss, and the enduring beauty of organic forms. Editor: Indeed! Schmeisser is urging us to think critically about how we assign value and meaning—be it in nature, art, or life itself. Curator: What a lovely invitation to wander, wonder, and feel connected to something much larger than ourselves. Editor: A testament to how paying attention closely to the world around us might give us insights to ourselves.