Bolt Cutters (second state) 1973

Editor: So, here we have Jim Dine’s "Bolt Cutters (second state)" from 1973. It’s a print, using etching and graphite on paper. It's quite abstract, almost like an industrial landscape rendered in a dream. What strikes you about it? Curator: The emphasis here should be on the *making*. Look at the visible process – the graphite, the etched lines. They aren't just depicting something, they *are* the subject. How does the act of applying pressure, of incising the plate, reflect the industrial object it portrays? The "Bolt Cutters" aren’t pristine; they’re worked, worn. Does that resonate with Dine’s perspective on labor and production? Editor: I see what you mean. It's not just *of* bolt cutters, it's *about* how they are made and used. All that chaotic cross-hatching really shows the force required. So you're saying the way it's made, the process, reflects something bigger? Curator: Exactly. The means of production aren’t neutral. They’re embedded with social and historical meaning. Dine elevates a commonplace tool, and in doing so prompts us to think about the relationship between humans, tools, and labor. Are we to view this art within a hierarchy of the means and materials when, in essence, laboring upon graphite on paper bears striking resemblance to working iron and steel? Editor: That makes me think about how the materials themselves – graphite, etching – suggest different kinds of labor, maybe artistic labor versus manual labor. Thanks, that’s a really interesting way to look at it. Curator: It all encourages us to investigate how value and meaning are constructed through the art object.