[no title] 1995

Curator: This intriguing piece is by Robert Therrien, currently held in the Tate Collections. It’s an untitled work, a print measuring 165 by 70 millimeters. What’s your initial take on it? Editor: It has this stark, almost childlike simplicity to it. The yellow shape is so clean, so defined against the background, that it is captivating. Curator: The reduction of form is quite deliberate. Therrien often explored everyday objects, simplifying them to their most basic shapes. It challenges our perception of the mundane by isolating and re-presenting these forms. Editor: Absolutely. I see it as engaging with the iconography of religious architecture. That steeple is a powerful symbol, regardless of one’s belief system. Curator: I agree. The printmaking process itself is significant too. The flatness and graphic quality contribute to its accessibility. Editor: Its social commentary, if any, rests in the democratization of religious imagery and its recontextualization within a secular gallery. Curator: It's a testament to how an economy of means can achieve such a powerful visual statement. Editor: Indeed, it provokes thought about the function of symbolism and its shifting significance.