Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning– Mexico 1932

Editor: So, here we have Marsden Hartley’s "Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning – Mexico," painted in 1932, using oil paints. The colours are so vivid; it gives it an almost dreamlike feel. What do you make of it? Curator: Well, consider the materiality itself. Oil paint, allowing for such intense pigmentation and layered application. Think about where Hartley acquired these materials. Were they locally sourced in Mexico, influencing his color choices, or imported? What does that say about artistic exchange at the time? Editor: That's interesting; I hadn't considered the source of the materials. Curator: And observe the bold brushstrokes, applied almost sculpturally. It's not just about depicting a landscape; it’s about the *process* of constructing an image, of almost building up a mountain, cloud by cloud. Do you think that changes our experience of the landscape itself? Editor: Yes, it does! I see now how the thick paint creates this almost tactile experience. Like, you could reach out and touch the mountain. I am now also thinking about who provided or profited from those raw materials. Curator: Precisely! Now consider the socio-economic context. Hartley was painting this during the Depression. How does depicting this grand, stable landscape contrast with the social unrest and economic instability of the time? It also questions romanticising nature amidst labor exploitation involved in the raw materials mining to make paint. Editor: Wow, it's a whole different perspective, thinking about the economic realities. Curator: It shifts the focus, doesn’t it? From the sublime landscape to the tangible realities of art production and social structure behind that paint, and ultimately what or whom the art obscures. Editor: It definitely makes me appreciate the painting differently! It is like uncovering a story underneath the image. Curator: Exactly. Art isn't created in a vacuum. Understanding its production helps us decipher its true meaning.