Fall 1964

Curator: What a piece! Bernard Cohen’s mixed-media work, "Fall," from 1964. At first blush, what grabs you? Editor: Honestly? A kind of controlled explosion. It's as if someone dropped a constellation of tiny worlds onto a stark white plane. I'm intrigued by the tension between the frenetic energy of the mixed mediums and the empty space around it. Curator: I notice that too. Cohen's use of materials like watercolour and coloured pencil here speaks volumes about post-war art production and process. Mixed-media reflects the changing attitudes towards the value assigned to materials, where artistic intent transcends conventional limitations. Do you agree? Editor: Absolutely, and the term 'Fall,' you know? I keep coming back to the dual nature of it – decline but also yielding, an offering. It feels intensely personal but simultaneously removed, mediated, like memory. I feel that this is exactly the emotional response Cohen tried to inspire. Curator: Speaking of personal interpretations, in post-war Britain artists often looked to challenge ideas of what 'painting' should be, questioning their own role in a society undergoing considerable social change. "Fall", in its blending of the ethereal and the tangible, epitomizes this struggle. The work asks viewers to not just observe, but actively participate in defining its meaning. Editor: Beautifully put! You're so right about the active role. It's not passive at all. I feel like I need to get closer, decipher those hidden symbols, and string together the artist's message with my own personal interpretations, because it changes over time. You know? It’s not a stagnant image. Curator: Precisely, that interplay reflects a broader trend where the art world moved toward process over product. How has this conversation shaped your understanding, then? Editor: You know, it went from controlled explosion to… something being unearthed, sediment upon sediment and us picking with soft brushes the layers. Now, what could "Summer" from Cohen look like? Or what did it mean to Cohen, when he used water colours compared to, say, charcoal, for his own expressions. Curator: Very thoughtful, exactly. Examining the material, process, and social context, that’s where its lasting influence truly resides, allowing each person's lived reality to be revealed within.