Pad en boerderij in een landschap 1907

Editor: This drawing, "Pad en boerderij in een landschap" or "Path and Farm in a Landscape," created with pencil and graphite around 1907 by Alexander Shilling, has a certain simplicity that's captivating. It’s such a spare use of materials. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Well, I see a clear statement about the means of production, the very labor embedded in rendering this scene. Notice how the graphite is applied: quick, efficient strokes, indicative of working directly from observation. It acknowledges the conditions under which art is produced; we are seeing the materiality of the pencil enacting labor in the service of documenting this particular place at this particular moment in time. Editor: So you are seeing not just a landscape, but almost an emphasis on the work that made the landscape come to life? The pressure of pencil on paper? Curator: Precisely! It's not striving for illusion, for some perfect rendering of nature. Rather, it draws attention to the labor involved. Shilling could've chosen to make an oil painting of this scene, a much more valued commodity at the time, but chose a humble medium instead. What does that say about his choices? About the conditions for viewing the world in 1907? Editor: I guess I was stuck thinking of the romantic notion of capturing light, or the rustic appeal of the landscape. But you’ve pushed me to consider the labor and the socioeconomic context influencing the artist's choices of materials. That changes how I see all art, really. Curator: Indeed. Recognizing the work *behind* the art is vital for us to re-evaluate our values as art consumers.