Sheet with red abstract pattern 1700 - 1800

Curator: Ah, another compelling piece. Let’s consider this “Sheet with red abstract pattern” from the 1700s, currently residing here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is, it seems, a drawing and print. Editor: At first blush, I am immediately struck by the cellular structure, not that I am fond of biology, or something, you understand me? But the deep red against the ground makes me want to look deeper. The ground, I imagine, could've been something entirely different? Curator: Possibly, and that is where it gets so very intriguing to me! This artist, or craftsperson, whoever created this work – their choice of these patterns, how they repeat and almost fight against themselves. Are they reaching to reveal or perhaps camouflage their nature, too? Editor: The social life of textiles at this time gets interesting as things were transitioning away from expensive imported and painted Indian textiles and into Europe-made prints and weaves using cotton, linen, silk, and wool, which served many uses in private and domestic spheres as dress, upholstery, and décor. The availability and cost surely mattered when someone was buying something that's organic. Curator: Ah, organic. So that, of course, resonates to me as an Artist, to know how my work will move on after I am gone; its influence will grow organically—do you catch that? This, indeed, it has the potential to turn mundane everyday life, at once! I love to see this and imagine myself holding it, tracing over each line, meditating with them for some period of time! Editor: Right—the tactile part can also teach a thing or two—thinking about what these repeating abstractions reveal about the lives and labour involved, the economic circumstances under which such prints come to life and start to travel—those little considerations surely can affect what and why people appreciate patterns in prints. Curator: So beautifully put, what started, from my end, as something that can turn mundane moments into transcendental experiences… can return again back to labor... such strange paradox! Editor: It all circles back eventually, doesn't it? Thanks! Curator: Indubitably, my friend. Likewise, thank you!