[no title: p. 297] 1970

Editor: This is an intriguing, untitled work on page 297 from "A Human Document" by Esq Tom Phillips. The browns and tans, geometric shapes, and musical annotations create a visual score, of sorts. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It's fascinating to consider Phillips's intervention on this Victorian novel. I am drawn to the labor involved – the physical act of obscuring, highlighting, and layering, which transforms a mass-produced object into something unique. What materials were employed to create these alterations? Editor: It seems like ink and gouache, perhaps. The annotations also suggest a focus on the relationship between visual and sonic elements. Curator: Precisely. And by extracting fragments and rearranging them, Phillips challenges our understanding of the original text and its cultural context. The means of production – both of the original novel and Phillips’ alterations – are central to its meaning. It’s almost a commentary on consumption itself. Editor: I never thought about it that way, focusing on labor and production rather than the pure visual aesthetics.