Canto VI: [no title] 1982

Editor: This is an intriguing image by Esq Tom Phillips, part of the Canto VI series. It looks like a stark photograph of butchered meat. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The stark presentation emphasizes the raw materiality of the meat. Consider the labor involved: the slaughter, preparation, and eventual consumption. This challenges the traditional idea of art as separate from everyday, material processes. How does this depiction of consumption relate to the collage elements Phillips often incorporates? Editor: That's a great point. The collage seems to juxtapose high art with the realities of food production, creating a commentary on societal values and waste. Curator: Exactly. It makes you question the boundaries we create between what we deem valuable and what we consume without thought.