Gateway to Hell 1900

Editor: Here we have Alfred Kubin’s “Gateway to Hell,” a charcoal and drawing from 1900. There’s a real nightmarish quality to it – the looming architecture, the shadowy figures. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The title suggests a dramatic destination, but I’m more interested in the "gateway" itself, and how Kubin depicts the act of crossing over. The choice of charcoal is crucial. It's a readily available material, almost industrial in its association, yet here it's deployed to render this otherworldly scene. Editor: Industrial? That’s interesting! I was so caught up in the subject matter I didn't think about the charcoal itself. Curator: Exactly! Consider the labor involved. The charcoal is ground, manipulated, layered to create these stark contrasts. This isn’t about divine inspiration; it’s about the physical act of mark-making shaping our perception of “hell”. How does the flag contribute to that reading, in your view? Editor: Well, it appears that people are running from that gate under that light; I guess the people carrying it are headed to the "Gateway". A war reference, maybe? Curator: Perhaps. It’s compelling to consider how mass production influenced artistic creation at the time. Charcoal production itself was becoming industrialized. Are we witnessing a commentary on how industrial processes contribute to societal darkness? And how readily available media enables wider access and potentially changes ways of accessing “culture”? Editor: So you’re seeing the medium itself, charcoal, and its changing methods of production at the time as relevant to the artwork. I hadn't considered it that way, but it makes a lot of sense! Thank you. Curator: It is also helpful to consider consumption, a rapidly rising phenomenon at the time this work was made! Art should be accessible, literally made accessible thanks to the rise of more available materials. Food for thought.