August, from Twelve Months of Flowers n.d.

Curator: Standing before us is an etching titled "August, from Twelve Months of Flowers." Its creation is currently unattributed, though we know the artwork is held here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: It reminds me of old botanical illustrations. A cascade of summer bounty – and oh, that one tall, fuzzy flower! What is that? It’s so wonderfully…assertive! Curator: I believe that's a Kniphofia, also known as a torch lily or red hot poker. The piece as a whole is rendered in watercolor and printed on paper; techniques facilitating its mass dissemination as a reproducible artwork. The very design caters to consumer interest. Editor: You’re right, there's a printed quality! The details, all meticulously placed, but… almost manufactured somehow. I still find the collection charming; maybe its a memory-feeling of summers I have known and summers that have vanished, the ephemeral preserved on a page, somehow. Curator: Indeed, this hints at the intersection of art, science, and early commercialism, catering to an emerging bourgeois interest in natural history and interior decoration. Prints like these offered affordable access to visual knowledge and aesthetic refinement. Editor: Yes, that makes sense. A bouquet for every home, a season neatly packaged. Is it still touching that spark of longing to be near it – or do you see any social stratification, the labor needed, any cultural commentary? Curator: The original artist, though unnamed in our records, likely benefitted from the established trade routes that allowed such flowers from different locales to be gathered together—and the subsequent market for botanically-accurate representations supported specialized artisans and industries. Editor: Makes me consider the contemporary artist collective and their art today, in many ways – maybe an ironic nod towards industrial practices in many media today. Curator: Exactly. "August, from Twelve Months of Flowers" is less a simple aesthetic exercise and a demonstration of the complex relationships that formed around the business of art. Editor: Well, thanks for grounding my sentimental impressions. I'll still enjoy dreaming about flower gardens. Curator: And I will remember the systems through which those flowers come to be shared so widely.