Photographs of fourteen glass paintings; sandblast technique c. 20th century

Curator: This is a photograph of a glass painting by Josef Albers using a sandblast technique. It resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Well, it’s certainly striking, isn’t it? Stark, almost architectural in its simplicity. It gives me the impression of something unfinished or perhaps a blueprint. Curator: Precisely! Albers was deeply interested in process and how industrial methods could inform fine art. Using sandblasting allowed him to manipulate glass in very precise ways. Editor: Yes, the labor! Think about the precision required to mask and blast away at the glass, creating these crisp lines. It marries the mechanical and the artistic. Curator: It also begs the question of functionality versus pure form. Is this design meant for something, or is it a study in geometric relationships? Editor: I think it's a bit of both. Albers was always interested in how art could be both aesthetically pleasing and deeply embedded in the realities of production. Curator: I find the photograph is another layer complicating the "original." It makes one contemplate the many hands involved to bring art into existence. Editor: Ultimately, it’s the layers of craft, the material presence, and the sharp, graphic impact that I find the most resonant, even in this photographic representation.