Canto III: [no title] 1981

Editor: This is "Canto III" by Esq Tom Phillips. It's an image filled with rows and rows of seemingly identical face-like drawings. The sheer number is striking! What do you make of it? Curator: The repeated, almost mass-produced imagery speaks to the artist's labor and process. Phillips seems to be interrogating the means of production itself. The slight variations challenge the notion of perfect replication, alluding to the human element within a system striving for it. Consider the implications for craft versus industry here. Editor: So, it's not just about the faces themselves, but about the act of creating them, and what that represents? Curator: Precisely. The material becomes a commentary on the social context of its creation, and the relationship between the artist and the work. What's left for you? Editor: That's a new way to look at it, I was so focused on the imagery. Thanks!