Landscape 1981

Editor: Here we have Elena Prentice's watercolor, "Landscape," made in 1981. It's quite small, almost like a postcard. I'm intrigued by the artist's choice to frame the landscape with these vertical lines. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Consider the materiality of watercolor, its portability and speed of application. This lends itself to *plein air* painting, capturing a fleeting moment. The lines you mention – are they framing or are they disrupting the traditional landscape, asking us to consider how we consume and compartmentalize nature? Editor: That's a fascinating point! It makes me think about the labor involved in both agriculture and artmaking, and how this landscape is essentially a product of both. Curator: Precisely. And even the paper itself, the support for this image, is a manufactured product, transforming raw materials. How does that change your view of the landscape depicted? Editor: It makes me think of the entire process, from the land to the artwork, each step transforming resources. Thank you for this perspective. Curator: My pleasure. Looking at art through the lens of production reveals so much.