Blank 1864 - 1941

Curator: Here we have "Blank" by Niels Larsen Stevns, an intriguing piece from the period of 1864 to 1941. It's rendered in watercolor on paper, a delicate medium choice, currently residing here at the SMK. My first impression? Editor: It’s quiet, isn't it? Unassumingly quiet. Just…the blankness speaks volumes. The texture of the paper seems almost worn, aged, and exposed in a very intimate way. The means of producing this blankness intrigues me—paper created and presented, yet deliberately without inscription. Was this simply left blank? Or is that a message in itself? Curator: Precisely! I find that very compelling too. One wonders about the intent. Is it an invitation, a provocation even, daring us to fill the void? What are the implications? A blank page offers so much potent potential—or, equally, represents an intention unrealized. It's that dichotomy I find fascinating. It’s not merely the absence of something; it’s the expectant pause. Editor: Thinking about the artist’s labour, and watercolor work itself, is often so transparent. There's no obscuring materiality, so the barest strokes, and, indeed, here the lack of them, speaks clearly about choices, both intentional and perhaps even accidental. The blankness throws into sharp relief the materiality and means of production itself. Curator: Beautifully put! This approach to understanding through materiality… I tend to see it more from the perspective of absence. In this silence we begin to examine our preconceptions. The watercolor hints suggest at possibilities: a hint of color suggests form, but ultimately dissolves in that infinite capacity and vastness that a blank space provides. Editor: It's almost anti-art in a way, isn't it? Or maybe, more generously, an art that acknowledges its own material constraints. What is art other than intentional work that we describe in social terms, or call art? Stevns' 'Blank' puts these terms up for debate. Curator: Indeed. A powerful act, no matter the reason! Ultimately, I'm left considering it from a completely subjective perspective - perhaps I would be emboldened enough to grab some paint or pencil! That opportunity for dialogue, regardless of the means, moves and motivates me as an artist. Editor: For me, this offers us insight into not just the work we are looking at, but also into the methods by which the viewer produces meaning for themselves in a work where materiality and making stand center-stage.