Untitled 

Editor: This "Untitled" ink drawing or print, signed by Imre Reiner, is very striking. The two portraits, stacked one atop the other, almost feel like they are merging. What’s your perspective on this work? Curator: Looking at Reiner's process here, it's tempting to consider how printmaking—as a means of reproduction—impacts the notion of the unique artwork. The material itself, ink, and the labor involved in the printmaking, shifts its potential significance, don’t you think? How might mass production techniques, or the *potential* for mass production present here, alter the consumption and valuation of the art? Editor: That's a really interesting idea. I guess the possibility that there could be multiple copies, undermines the traditional "aura" of a unique piece. How does this relate to the figuration or subject of the portrait itself? Curator: The subjects – these figures, the *material* that constitutes their representation—become something that can be consumed, commodified. Portraits traditionally signified status. This print making technique complicates that reading by its democratization. Is the act of reproduction celebrating these individuals, or turning them into just another consumer good? Consider the relationship between artistic labour and social context - Reiner's methods, and how those portraits circulate, matter as much as the "who" or "what" is depicted. What impact might that production process have on how we perceive those two subjects? Editor: That’s such a helpful way to reframe the work, thinking about not just what it shows, but also how it came into being, and how its reproducibility would have impacted its original audience. Curator: Exactly. Reflecting on it, this "Untitled" work invites us to contemplate the cultural value assigned not just to images, but also to the processes and means of their dissemination.