Noah Guiding Birds onto the Ark, after an early Italian painting 19th-20th century

Curator: This is Joseph Smith's "Noah Guiding Birds onto the Ark, after an early Italian painting," currently residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. It strikes me as both primitive and deeply considered. Editor: The rough-hewn quality and the palpable texture of the paper give it such a raw, immediate feel. I wonder about the materiality of the pigments themselves. Curator: I see a re-imagining of an age-old symbol, the dove especially, representing hope and renewal after destruction. But here, they are almost jostling, chaotic. Editor: Right! It feels less like a divine scene and more like...livestock management. The artist's hand is so evident in the lines and the visible layers of color. The labor is right there! Curator: The image resonates with the continuity of visual storytelling, a kind of cultural memory being activated. Editor: It reminds me that even biblical stories get filtered through the particular materials and work that bring them into being. Curator: Precisely. It is fascinating how the sacred narrative is rendered through such direct means. Editor: It definitely offers a chance to consider the physical effort involved in portraying an archetypal story.