Benicasim 1911

Curator: Well, if it isn’t another moody landscape, my favorite. It almost looks like it was caught in a dream. Is that how you see it too? Editor: Funny you should say that. I find it quite compelling, though it initially felt almost too quiet for me. Then I noticed the trees. There's an unmistakable symbolic richness here, perhaps a reminder of nature's mirror that always surrounds our reality. Curator: It certainly holds layers, and in "Benicasim," an etching created in 1911, James McBey captures more than just a tranquil waterside. He plays with the ideas that water is the origin, reflection, and the depth of everything. There are, without a doubt, visual cues from Impressionism in the way light defines the horizon. Editor: Oh, totally! It reminds me how landscapes have historically been so laden with cultural meaning—a bit more than just scenery, wouldn’t you say? Do you think McBey understood his art from an existentialist point of view or he did the image on a whim? Curator: James McBey spent much of his time with writers, so existentialism might be fair guess, wouldn't you agree? The scene itself isn't groundbreaking, however his unique style shines through. This image of calm actually invokes some thought. The mirrored image, particularly of the forest in the front, hints towards introspective themes as well as nature. Editor: So well put, truly! There is something about this view—very much the calm before something else... and you phrased that just right, in the style McBey probably intended, as if one's memories are also like water. Is McBey trying to tell us how shallow and treacherous our recollections can be by not rendering them with realism? Curator: Maybe McBey is trying to remind us that nothing is ever solid or forever; memory is more than simply remembering, memory transforms reality, our identities too. "Benicasim" uses such stillness to stir unrest. Editor: "Uses such stillness to stir unrest"—I am writing that down; in fact, I may embroider it on a pillow. "Benicasim" is very sneaky and complicated, thanks to your thoughtful reading! Curator: No, thank you for joining me in the mind's image pool!