Designs for Vaulting Ornament (recto and verso) c. 1895 - 1916

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Designs for Vaulting Ornament." It's a graphite sketch on paper, and the lines are so preliminary. What can you tell me about Sargent's process here? Curator: Consider the labor involved in architectural ornament. Sargent, known for portraits of the elite, here explores the materiality of design itself. It challenges the distinction between "high art" and the craft of building. What does this preliminary state reveal about the value assigned to such labor? Editor: So, seeing the "behind-the-scenes" challenges the finished product's perceived value and the labor it takes. Curator: Precisely. It makes us question the layers of production and consumption inherent in creating and viewing art. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Editor: It definitely does! I'll look at finished works in a different light now.