Drie vogels in de lucht boven zee 1891 - 1941

Editor: Here we have Leo Gestel’s "Three Birds in the Sky Above the Sea," created sometime between 1891 and 1941. It's an ink drawing, with such stark lines. It feels very immediate, almost like a sketch from a field journal. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: I'm drawn to the simplicity of the materials. Ink, paper, the tools easily available, almost cheap. What elevates it from just a sketch is the modernist sensibility. Think about the conditions in which an artist creates work; not always lavish studios but also moments captured on paper or canvas because it is ready to hand. Are they challenging traditional oil paints as high art and the drawing as disposable sketch? The act of making becomes the focus here, pushing back against established art markets and norms. Editor: I never thought of it that way. It’s true; anyone could pick up ink and paper. How does that relate to the subject matter of birds? Curator: Consider birds – universally available but intensely surveilled, tracked. Gestel makes three outlines on the sky, making them available as an owned image. But does owning an image of an artwork owned change our relation to the natural subjects or the political context? I mean who exactly profits from us owning these birds in print? The viewer gains the freedom, from the original purchaser. Gestel’s ink isn’t so free, is it? Editor: So you’re saying the very accessibility of the drawing actually brings up questions about control and ownership, and the art market that facilitates that? Curator: Precisely. This simple ink drawing throws open questions on artistic labor and consumerism. Even in modernism there were different grades and hierarchies! Editor: I’ll never look at a simple drawing the same way again. I am surprised how loaded what seems so simple can actually be. Thanks!