Landscape, Maine 1991

Editor: Here we have Elena Prentice's "Landscape, Maine," a watercolor sketch. There’s a dreamy quality to it, the colors are so soft. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: I'm drawn to the sketch's materiality. The paper’s visible texture isn't disguised by the artist, but embraced. The watercolor, as a readily available and transportable medium, speaks to artistic labor in plein air. Do you see the tension between the "high art" subject of landscape and the humble means of production? Editor: I see what you mean. It's like the artist made a conscious choice to embrace the everyday in their art. Curator: Exactly. It prompts us to consider how the artist's process democratizes the landscape genre itself. Editor: That's a different way to look at landscapes! Thank you. Curator: Indeed. Considering the means reveals a whole new layer.