Pennine Way 1974

Editor: This is Peter Brook’s “Pennine Way” from the Tate Collections. I’m really drawn to the texture of the stone building and how it contrasts with the bare tree. What stands out to you in terms of the materials and process used here? Curator: Consider the stone itself. Where did it come from? Who quarried it, and how did its availability shape the architecture? The Pennine Way’s very name speaks to human labor and movement across this landscape. Editor: So you're saying the materials tell a story about the people who lived and worked there? Curator: Exactly. The artwork becomes a record of human interaction with the environment, mediated through labor and construction. The simplicity becomes a testament to necessity. Editor: That gives me a whole new way of looking at landscape art. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Paying attention to the materials reveals so much about the social fabric.