Mornings with Judd 1968

Editor: So, here we have Peter Milton’s etching from 1968, "Mornings with Judd." There's such a strange atmosphere, it's quite formal and detached with a kind of old fashioned vibe. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It’s all about layers for me. Not just physical layering of the image, with figures in the foreground, middle ground, and background, all connected and yet isolated by architectural elements, but also the layers of memory. Do you ever feel like a memory is simultaneously sharp and slightly out of focus, dreamlike, even? Editor: Absolutely, sometimes I see images in my head with the kind of filter you are talking about. It’s almost like a photograph that's been sitting around for years. Curator: Right! The muted tones and the sharp etching technique perfectly convey this sensation of recollecting a half-remembered experience, of lives intertwined but separated by time and space. Do you think the title "Mornings with Judd" relates to Donald Judd, the minimalist artist? Editor: Oh, that’s interesting. Perhaps, but the figure in the coat somehow recalls photographs I have seen of T.S. Eliot, so it’s all muddled up in my mind. It really taps into that feeling of holding on to something just as it's slipping away. Curator: It's a space full of absence, isn't it? Look at how the receding perspective both draws you in and pushes you away simultaneously. That to me, is Milton’s real triumph, trapping feeling in this timeless, somewhat haunting landscape. Editor: I agree, this is far more complex than a mere slice of life; I see now how the staging enhances the sensation of viewing a fragmented past. Curator: Precisely, It shows how a still image can convey movement and emotion if you work hard enough.