Studies of Hands 

Curator: This work presents us with "Studies of Hands," rendered in pencil on paper by James Ward. What’s your first impression? Editor: Somber. It’s quite a delicate work but these studies have a sort of weighty feel for simple sketches, likely owing to the somewhat realistic treatment of shadow across these hands, it is pretty haunting to look at. Curator: Well, let’s delve into the context of such academic studies. James Ward, although often recognized as an animal painter, would likely produce drawings like these to understand anatomy for painting purposes. This brings in a discussion on how labor and material meet in making these hands visible. Think of the labor required in sourcing pencils, the cost of the paper and Ward’s drawing time... Editor: And consider the institutional context of academic art. Drawing hands was a pretty crucial part of any aspiring artist's training back then and one might imagine these ended up in teaching collections, and subsequently influenced younger artists who were not as wealthy. But for me the key is accessibility here and the kind of knowledge exchange happening. The artist's labor gets distributed into new avenues that they may or may not be aware of. Curator: Right, the socio-political impact of such "simple" pieces and studies, if one can call it that, becomes quite expansive. And that is beyond simply considering them aesthetically, because they tell so much about artistic craft that moves from artist to public and from public back to the artist. How is one hand pointing as if accusing, how does the other clutch as if imploring! Editor: It’s precisely that implied performance, within an exercise intended for self-improvement, which hints at broader applications and implications, especially in terms of social awareness or possibly just awareness of other humans like you and I! I suppose the sketch prompts discussions about both artistic skill, its making and its dissemination, and its emotive purposes for me. Curator: Absolutely. These "Studies of Hands," like so many works, push us to think about the artistic ecosystem beyond the canvas and to consider the very material of knowledge making in the past.