Reconstruction 1919 - 1920

Editor: This is Cuthbert Hamilton's "Reconstruction," currently in the Tate Collections. Looking at the interplay of angular shapes and muted tones, I immediately think about the aftermath of something, a sort of rebuilding after… what, I wonder? What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see an emphasis on the means of production itself. Consider the materials: paper, watercolor, perhaps gouache. The very act of "reconstruction" suggests labor, a physical process tied to social context and consumption following potential destruction or obsolescence. What kind of labour is this? And what were the conditions that allowed such art-making? Editor: So, you're thinking about the social and economic conditions that allowed this to be made, rather than just the visual narrative? Curator: Precisely. The materiality speaks to the larger systems at play. It's not just about what we see, but how it came to be. Editor: I never considered that, the artmaking as labour itself. Thank you!