This Was a Fatal Embarkation 1898

Editor: This is "This Was a Fatal Embarkation" by Frederic Remington, created in 1898. It seems to be charcoal or graphite on paper. The texture gives it an unfinished, almost dreamlike quality. I'm curious about your perspective on it, what stands out to you? Curator: Given my focus, I'm immediately drawn to the materials and the processes hinted at. Graphite, charcoal... inexpensive, readily available. Why choose these materials, especially given Remington's established painting career? Was he experimenting with a quicker method of production, perhaps to feed a growing market for images of the American West? Think of it in relation to industrial production of images, the wood engravings in newspapers for instance, he may be attempting to produce something similarly. Editor: That's a very different way of looking at it! I was focused on the subject, the Native Americans in the canoe and thinking about Remington's portrayal of them, but the material context is fascinating. Do you see the choice of graphite and charcoal also having any implications regarding Remington's intentions about the "preciousness" of his art? Curator: Precisely! The apparent casualness in using cheaper materials challenges the very notion of high art. Graphite is, at its core, an industrial material; we see the work because of pencils and mechanical drawing. And in choosing such common media for depicting a scene loaded with complex cultural and historical weight, Remington engages in a subtle dialogue about value, labor, and consumption. Consider how this sketch might have been reproduced and disseminated. Editor: That shifts the entire understanding. It's not just a picture, it's about the production and dissemination of that picture, and the artistic statement embodied within the tools used to create the work. Curator: Exactly. Analyzing Remington’s choice of media brings us closer to the underlying commentary of production, labor, and access embedded in the work. We went beyond the subject and we thought more of the means with which that subject comes to existence and reaches the audiences.