Balanced Figure 1960 - 1961

Editor: This is Kenneth Armitage's "Balanced Figure" from the Tate Collections. It’s a print, rather simple with just black and brown shapes suggesting a human form. What strikes me is how raw and almost industrial it feels. How do you interpret this work, especially concerning its production? Curator: Considering Armitage's background in sculpture, it's interesting to see how he translates volume into a two-dimensional print. The starkness of the materials—the ink, the paper—highlights the process. It makes me think about accessibility, about creating art for wider consumption beyond the elite. Was Armitage democratizing his practice through printmaking? Editor: That's a great point, thinking about printmaking as democratizing art. I hadn't considered the social implications of the medium itself. Curator: Exactly! It shifts our focus from the artist's singular genius to the means by which art reaches an audience, impacting value and reception. Editor: Thanks, I'll keep this in mind when I analyse other prints.