Pelagos 1946

Editor: Here we have Dame Barbara Hepworth’s "Pelagos," a wood sculpture housed at Tate Britain. The contrast between the warm exterior and cool interior is really striking. What can you tell me about the making of this piece? Curator: The process is key. Note the hand-carved wood, a direct engagement with the material. Hepworth's labor transforms raw material into a refined object, blurring the line between craft and high art. How does this materiality affect your perception of the sculpture? Editor: Knowing it’s hand-carved, rather than, say, molded, gives it a more intimate feel. It’s clearly been worked. I appreciate the connection to the artist’s hand. Curator: Exactly. We see the artist's labor, the consumption of material, and the creation of form, all intertwined. It prompts us to question the value we place on both the object and the process. What does it mean to value one over the other? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. Seeing the art as a process as much as an object really changes things. Curator: Indeed. Material and labor are crucial aspects of art history.