The Turtle 1935 - 1943

Curator: Mortimer Borne created "The Turtle" sometime between 1935 and 1943. Borne was an American artist, printmaker, and educator. This woodcut in color is currently held here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Wow, the colours feel like a hazy summer day filtered through old film. There's a warmth that almost feels… nostalgic? The composition, with all those figures scattered across the beach, reminds me of childhood trips. Curator: It is fascinating how he captures a certain era. These leisure scenes reflect the social changes happening during the interwar period, as more people had the means and time for recreational activities. Think of the democratization of vacation. Editor: It makes me wonder about each of those people, all anonymized in his print. Look at that kid poking the turtle in the lower left! Is he being kind or menacing? I project narratives on those anonymous bodies and I'm part of a story happening on the beach myself! Curator: And that dynamic—the individual versus the crowd—is a powerful undercurrent throughout Borne's work. Note also how he positions us as viewers; we're among the throng, yet slightly removed, which puts on focus how are those paintings perceived from the external. Editor: Right! As for the turtle... its presence, so grounded against the restless dynamism, creates a beautiful sense of calm. It reminds me how nature doesn’t participate in the frenzy of humankind. Curator: The fact that he selected the woodcut technique is particularly interesting: in prints it is hard to capture reality. Editor: The choice speaks to a certain artistic economy. Every mark is crucial, distilled, a little poem. Even in a crowded scene. Curator: What this teaches us is to realize what happens in society with external activities. And how every single painting shows its part in history, no matter its value, no matter if there were intentions or not. Editor: Indeed, an evocative echo of summer and of art.