Le sourire: Journal sérieux, Aug. 21, 1899 1899

Editor: This drawing by Paul Gauguin, "Le sourire: Journal sérieux," created in 1899, uses ink on paper. It's… intriguing. It's more text than image, really, almost like a handwritten document with these small, dreamlike drawings interspersed. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Well, immediately I consider the labor involved in creating such a piece. It's a hand-drawn image paired with extensive handwritten text – challenging the idea of 'high art' as solely painting or sculpture. Think of the social context. Gauguin’s printing wasn’t some slick industrial process; this looks more akin to a personal project, even a manifesto perhaps. Editor: So, it’s almost blurring the lines between personal writing, like a diary, and something intended for public consumption? Curator: Exactly! What kind of "press" do you think printed it? It’s a handmade object attempting to enter the market. What about the materials? Why paper and ink versus oils or lithography? Was it cost? Accessibility? Consider his engagement with the exotic... was that also expressed through specific techniques? Editor: So, instead of just seeing it as a drawing, you are also focusing on its production and distribution. I hadn't thought of it that way, more that he wrote and then included sketches as an afterthought. Curator: And I'm arguing those sketches have a similar social and cultural work as the written parts. Editor: This has given me a new framework for looking at this piece. Thank you! Curator: Absolutely. Always remember to consider how the physical making affects meaning.