The Movement of the Lips 1968

Editor: Jacques Herold’s “The Movement of the Lips,” created in 1968 with oil paint, has an unsettling, almost dreamlike quality. The way the figure is constructed feels so… tactile, I want to know more. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The material handling is fascinating. Consider the oil paint: Herold uses it less to depict form realistically, and more to explore its inherent properties. Notice how he builds up textures. Is this sensuality pushing against the rigid boundaries of traditional painting? Is the artist exploring his relationship with raw materials and our consumerist attraction to them? Editor: I never considered the "consumerist attraction". So, you see the artist drawing attention to our desires? How the visual pleasure impacts consumption of not only art, but of physical desires as well? Curator: Precisely! The erotic theme merges with the means of production. Look at the brushstrokes; they are almost repetitive, hinting at mass production, despite the unique hand of the artist being very visible. Is this tension a comment on commodification and art’s role within a market economy? It is interesting that he is making eroticism… labor? Editor: That's really fascinating, something I hadn't considered before. It makes you think about where pleasure and work intersect, and how that impacts our perception of both. Curator: Yes. Examining the materiality allows us to unravel layers of meaning often missed by simply focusing on subject matter. A closer inspection uncovers the conditions under which this type of artmaking is made, consumed, and assigned cultural value. Editor: I agree; I will keep the lens of production and labor in mind going forward. It is so insightful!