A Celebrated French Diversion - in Which the Person Who Kisses Is Pointed Out 

Curator: Oh, my! This little engraving, “A Celebrated French Diversion - in Which the Person Who Kisses Is Pointed Out,” attributed to the British School, feels like a whispered secret from a bygone era. So frivolous, and yet… Editor: Frivolous is right. Look at the scale of labor involved in these garments, the lace, the embroidery. It's all pointing to extreme consumption and waste by the wealthy elite. Curator: Yes, but doesn’t it also hint at something more universal? The awkwardness of flirtation, the blindfolded game of chance… it’s a little like a stage set, everyone playing their part in the drama of desire. Editor: I see the stage, but I see the machinery too. The copperplate printing process—reproducing these scenes for wider distribution. Who's consuming these images? What narratives are they reinforcing? Curator: Perhaps it's simply about capturing a fleeting moment of joy, of escapism. We all need diversions, don't we? Editor: True, but it's important to remember the labor, the material realities propping up these diversions. Curator: Well, I suppose we’re both pointing at the heart of it, in our own way. Editor: Indeed. Different angles on the same…kiss.