Untitled (mosaic of Buddha images) c. 1970

Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by the grid-like composition—it feels at once meditative and strangely systematic. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at Michael Corr’s "Untitled (mosaic of Buddha images)" housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Its dimensions are roughly 49 by 34 centimeters, and it features serially produced images of the Buddha. The materiality feels quite interesting. Curator: The repeated Buddha images, each a slightly different color, printed in what looks like a very manual process. The hand of the artist is clearly present in this seriality, this speaks to ideas of labor. Editor: Absolutely. It raises questions about mass production and commodification of spiritual symbols within capitalist structures. The labor of creating each image, combined with the almost pixelated effect, reflects broader societal tensions. Curator: And it highlights how readily available, or not, these images are to different demographics. The process directly relates to ideas surrounding accessibility. Editor: It also prompts a dialogue around cultural appropriation, or perhaps appreciation, in Western art contexts. What does it mean to replicate these images so many times, even with slight variation? Curator: I find myself thinking about the means of distribution. Was this intended for a mass audience? Is it a singular, unique object, despite its serial elements? Editor: Ultimately, this work encourages us to consider both the spiritual and the material contexts of image-making. Curator: It really gets me thinking about the artist’s hand, and the role of process in meaning.