Gnu 

Editor: Here we have "Gnu" by Joseph Hecht, made using ink. It's a striking image; the creature seems so solid and still. It has this strange intensity with that slightly quizzical gaze. What do you make of it? Curator: You know, it almost feels like a heraldic beast, doesn't it? Powerful, yes, but also a bit melancholy. The single, precise line used throughout gives it a feeling of, like, raw exposure. It's not hiding anything, just *being*, in all its wild, scraggly glory. I think of Dürer's rhinoceros – that same attempt to capture something exotic, maybe with a hint of the naive eye. But where Dürer overwhelms, Hecht pares back, focusing our attention on line and form. Editor: I see what you mean about it being pared back, so minimal almost. And the animal has such a distinctive look! Do you think there is any symbolic reason why he would have picked this animal? Curator: I wonder if it’s a commentary on our perception of 'the other,' and how we try to define animals like the wildebeest with human expectations and values? Look at those delicate wisps of hair forming its mane – they're almost decorative! As if Hecht's both honoring its primal nature, but also playing with it. It's intriguing because Hecht isn’t trying to make it conventionally beautiful or tame; he celebrates its quirky, almost awkward, physique. It's like he's found beauty in imperfection and oddity. Editor: That's really insightful; I'd never thought of it that way before. All those wiry details, its almost doleful expression... It's fascinating. Curator: Absolutely. Hecht lets the animal exist on its own terms, and perhaps, by extension, allows *us* to question what we expect from art—from the world, really. I know it gave me plenty to reflect on!