No. XI 1969

Editor: This is Ian Tyson’s "No. XI," currently residing at the Tate. It's comprised of blue and white squares, seemingly screen-printed, against a gray background. It reminds me a bit of early computer graphics. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Considering the materials, how does the industrial nature of screen printing inform our understanding? The repetition, the stark lines – these speak to mass production. Think about consumption, and how the artist’s labor is almost masked, yet fundamentally present. Editor: So, it's less about the image itself and more about the method of its making? Curator: Precisely! The commodification of art, the means of production. It makes you question what constitutes "art," doesn’t it? Editor: It certainly does give me a different lens. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about art this way reveals so much about our relationship to objects.