Distraction 

Editor: Sandberg's painting, "Distraction," done with oil paints, presents a tableau of a skeleton, a mask of a queen, and a child. The stark contrast of light and shadow, along with the figures themselves, gives it a rather unsettling and surreal feeling. How do you interpret this work? Curator: From a materialist perspective, the painting invites us to consider the very act of creation and its social context. The use of oil paint, a historically valued medium, juxtaposed with the symbolism of death and fleeting beauty prompts reflection on the labor involved in producing such an image and how it participates in cycles of value and consumption. Editor: Cycles of value? Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor of extracting pigments, refining oil, and the artist's physical work, all culminating in an object intended for visual consumption and potential economic exchange. Moreover, what commentary can we draw from the skull using a “mask of a queen”? What does that mask symbolize and what can be made of its consumption in art, or perhaps its role as art’s “product?” Editor: It's as if the painting itself is performing the transience it depicts – materials and labor fading, as the painting gains value as commodity. The mask the skeleton is holding also reminds me of today’s masks, especially during the time of covid and after it. Curator: Interesting observation. Consider also the labor implied in representing a 'royal' subject versus a universal symbol like a skeleton. And consider this – if an art piece doesn’t have meaning, is it also labor wasted or a symbol of worthlessness in artistic creation? Editor: It sounds like "Distraction" compels us to dissect the layers of production and social meaning embedded in a seemingly simple image. Curator: Exactly. It challenges the idea of art as purely aesthetic, highlighting its inextricable link to material processes, economic systems, and social commentary.