Sun on the Sidewalk 

Editor: Here we have "Sun on the Sidewalk," a monochromatic woodcut print. The figure reaching down seems to interact with the image of the sun itself. The mood is one of quiet concentration, maybe a bit lonely. What leaps out at you when you look at this, Curator? Curator: Well, first, it makes me think about how much we imprint ourselves onto the world, literally, and how sometimes those imprints – a drawing in the sand, a message etched in frost – are fleeting. There’s a powerful contrast here; the starkness of the woodcut gives a permanence that the sun drawing on the sidewalk certainly wouldn't have. What is the figure *doing* with the sun? Erasing? Defining? Touching? Is it a simple childlike rendering or a deeply reflective moment? I wonder, do you feel that the lack of color directs us towards a specific reading of this piece? Editor: That's fascinating – I hadn't considered that fleeting versus permanent tension. And, no, the lack of color doesn't dictate a single reading, I think it opens up the interpretation because monochrome is suggestive rather than declarative. Curator: Precisely. This almost forces the viewer to bring their own palette, their own history, to the artwork. It really plays with the fundamental idea of making an ephemeral thing like a sidewalk drawing – exist...somewhere. What remains. It suggests memory. The gesture becomes a statement, it moves beyond simple representation. It transcends mere visuality, don’t you agree? Editor: I see that, like a memory made visible! Thanks, I will keep that in mind when I look at this print again. Curator: Yes! Now I see it in a new way too. Thank *you*.