Pine Bend 1891

Editor: This is Henry Bosse's "Pine Bend" from 1891. It’s a watercolor piece and the circular composition makes it look like looking through a telescope, but also makes me wonder what materials informed its making. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Let's consider the watercolor medium itself. What sort of labor does watercolor entail compared to, say, oil painting, or even industrial printing methods emerging at the time? Bosse was a trained civil engineer working for the U.S. government; how might we understand this artwork through his knowledge of natural materials, industrialization and craftwork in his time? Editor: So, rather than simply viewing this as a landscape study, you’re suggesting we examine the materials used and the context of its creation within an industrial setting? Curator: Precisely! Note the meticulous detail alongside the fluidity inherent in watercolor. This tension embodies the artist's negotiation between industrial precision, watercolor’s physical qualities and natural landscape, which we are accustomed to regarding through a fine art, pictorialist lens. Editor: I hadn't considered the relationship between the seemingly delicate medium and the artist's engagement with heavy industry. Now, the circular frame adds another dimension to consider... the materiality and production around it also shift our perspective. Curator: Exactly! The choice to render this landscape within a cyanotype's framing aesthetic underscores Bosse’s interest in how landscapes were constructed and consumed during a period of significant industrial expansion in the US. Editor: Fascinating! Seeing this work through a materialist lens really opens up questions about artistry, industrialization and class. I learned a lot by understanding this through material processes.