Unity (mylar/separation) 1995

Curator: This is Louis Delsarte's mixed media piece, "Unity (mylar/separation)." It resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My initial reaction is that it feels unfinished, almost like a study for a larger, more complex work. The marks appear rather provisional. Curator: That's interesting, given the title. Perhaps the artist is exploring unity through fragmentation, the social separation implied in "separation" as part of an eventual unification. Editor: Or perhaps it's about the literal act of layering and separating materials. Mylar, known for its reflective surface, combined with other media… I wonder about the labor involved in its creation and the accessibility of these materials to the artist. Curator: It certainly invites questions about the accessibility of art itself. Delsarte, as a Black artist, working with abstraction, would have been navigating a complex art world. Editor: Precisely. The choice of materials here speaks to a certain resourcefulness, using what's available to express a potentially profound statement. Curator: It's a quiet piece, prompting us to consider the historical and material circumstances surrounding its creation. Editor: Absolutely. It leaves me contemplating the artist’s process and the many layers of meaning embedded within.