Saint-Malo, Les Terre-Neuvas 1928

Editor: Here we have Paul Signac's watercolor, "Saint-Malo, Les Terre-Neuvas," painted in 1928. The first thing that strikes me is how light and airy it feels, despite depicting these massive ships. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I'm drawn to the visible process. Signac’s application of watercolor isn’t about concealing the medium, but emphasizing it. Look at how the paper breathes through the washes, how the skeletal underdrawing remains visible. What does that visible labor of creation suggest to you about our engagement with the image itself? Editor: It feels honest. Less like a perfect, untouchable scene, and more like a moment captured in a working process. I mean, the subject matter is about laborers on these boats, no? The means reflects the subject? Curator: Exactly! Consider the context of post-Impressionism. These artists were breaking down not just color, but the illusion of traditional painting. The transparency of watercolor allows him to analyze the social underpinnings of even the most picturesque scenes. It transforms our consumption. Think of this landscape as less a "view" and more an index of its own construction, both artistically and industrially. How might that change the way a viewer, perhaps a tourist, sees the harbor? Editor: It makes me consider the work that goes into creating the pretty scene that tourists consume – both the work of the artist, and the labor of the sailors whose presence allowed Signac to create this landscape in the first place. Curator: Precisely. It forces us to acknowledge the often unseen layers of production. Editor: So, it is not just about painting, but the material and the making? Curator: Indeed. Signac isn't just showing us a harbor; he's revealing the labor that sustains it, mirrored by the materiality of his own labor in crafting this image. It moves us from passively consuming a scene, to actively understanding the social and material relationships it represents. I've definitely learned from this, considering process more consciously.