[no title] 1996

Editor: This small print by Sean Scully presents us with side-by-side checkerboards in contrasting palettes. It feels quite handmade, almost like a textile. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a deliberate investigation into the means of production. The rough edges of the squares and visible texture point to a focus on materiality and the labor involved. Is Scully challenging the divide between printmaking and the perceived preciousness of painting here? Editor: That's interesting! It does prompt questions about value and the artist's hand. Curator: Precisely. Consider the social context: are these simple forms meant to be mass-produced, or is their apparent simplicity a commentary on industrial processes? Perhaps the "handmade" quality is a reaction against it? Editor: I never would have thought of that! I see so much more now than just squares. Curator: That's the beauty of art: to see the world anew, thinking about the 'how' as much as the 'what.'