Mothers 

Editor: So, here we have "Mothers," a striking pen and ink drawing by Ivan Milev. It has such a stark, graphic quality. What's most intriguing is how stylized and symbolic it feels. What can you tell us about it? Curator: This image is compelling precisely because it blends folk traditions with modernist aesthetics. Think about the social context: early 20th-century Bulgaria, seeking to define its national identity after centuries of Ottoman rule. How might an artist contribute to that project? Editor: I guess, by looking back to folk traditions, trying to create a kind of "national" art? Curator: Precisely. Milev, along with other Bulgarian artists, was interested in the revival of national art. The stylized figures and decorative elements, rooted in Bulgarian folklore, become a powerful visual language for asserting cultural identity. What about the imagery strikes you as distinctly Bulgarian? Editor: Maybe the clothing, the stark black and white that seems a bit like woodblock prints, and how deliberately everything seems positioned. The whole composition seems rooted in some tradition. Is there anything specific that tells us about how this artwork was received by the public back then? Curator: Well, folk art was closely aligned with peasant culture and nationalist sentiments at the time. Exhibitions that highlighted these works were extremely popular in solidifying national identity and presented a more distinct break from previous art styles which copied Western styles more closely. But even the choice of medium itself – pen and ink drawing – speaks to broader shifts. This isn't high art oil painting, is it? It’s more accessible. Editor: So, it’s a statement in itself. The choice of such accessible, readily available materials becomes symbolic too. Fascinating. Curator: Indeed, and think about that accessibility and its relationship to the public it aims to reach. Editor: That makes me look at it with completely new eyes, thank you.