Free Stamp Offer 1971

Editor: Here we see Richard Pinkney's "Free Stamp Offer" with each image about 89 millimeters square. The stark black and white creates quite a striking effect. What's your take on this piece? Curator: Considering Pinkney's work, I'm drawn to the means of production here. These look like printing matrixes. The images themselves become secondary to the labor implied in their creation and dissemination, don't you think? Editor: I suppose I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. The images look mass-produced. Curator: Exactly! And what does that say about the commodification of art, or even ideas, in our society? It shifts the focus from artistic genius to the mechanics of circulation. Editor: That's a whole new way of seeing art for me. I'll have to consider the materiality of art more!