[title not known] 

Editor: Here we see a drawing of a woman in ink on paper by Charles Martin. There's an immediacy to the lines that feels very intimate. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The rapid linework suggests a sketch, focused less on idealized beauty and more on capturing the sitter's presence using easily-accessible materials. Consider the economics of portraiture at the time; who could afford to be memorialized and through what means? Editor: That's fascinating! So, the materials speak to a certain social class? Curator: Precisely. And the scale suggests a personal keepsake, readily portable, perhaps circulated amongst intimates. The paper itself, the ink, everything points to a specific mode of production and consumption. Editor: I never thought of it that way, but it makes so much sense. Curator: It shifts the focus from solely aesthetic appreciation to an understanding rooted in the material world.