Sinagoga 

Curator: We’re looking at Tia Peltz's pen and ink drawing entitled “Sinagoga.” It's a swift sketch, seemingly capturing an urban scene. Editor: My first impression is a feeling of lightness, almost fragility. The lines are so minimal, suggesting rather than defining. There's an immediate intimacy from the feeling it's from a personal sketchbook. Curator: Indeed. The work bears a clear resemblance to a study –perhaps even a rough preliminary plan– using the line work to denote form and a building, perhaps. We can discern symbolic suggestions through the depiction of the Synagogue’s façade with windows suggesting some kind of inner-illumination. The visible lettering over the doorway invites closer reading and understanding, what do you think? Editor: Absolutely. And seeing the inscription "Sinagoga," prompts questions of context. The hurried quality speaks volumes about the artistic process; a record of observations captured on the go, which resonates through the materials involved: a basic pen and ink set up allows for portable artwork and quick ideation. Curator: Do you see any symbolic qualities that relate to these particular stylistic aspects? For example, this piece might remind some viewers of the tradition of ‘urban sketching,’ and its contemporary engagement with local visual culture and cultural sites? Editor: From a materialist lens, this kind of immediate creation speaks to something almost impulsive, tied to its setting. We can relate these choices in process and medium to a potentially democratized access to art-making that challenges historical artistic production of architecture through art. The physical act is almost like taking down notes of inspiration or of observation that resonates with a time and a place. Curator: Ultimately, the act of sketching such a building underscores its architectural presence in the city's symbolic landscape, highlighting themes of cultural identity. It captures a moment of connection to place and identity, transformed into a poignant visual record. Editor: Precisely. Thinking about its place among other pieces and production styles we can infer that Peltz has not just captured a place but also the very act of perceiving it, using accessible material as her medium. It transforms the ordinary to a personal relic that carries collective memory, perhaps even giving form to the notion that “a line is a long walk” (Paul Klee).