Blank 1930 - 1936

Editor: Here we have Niels Larsen Stevns' "Blank," made between 1930 and 1936, created using watercolor on paper. The subtle blue hues almost disappear into the white of the paper itself. I'm interested in how we should even approach a work like this. What are we meant to make of its seeming emptiness? Curator: What I see here isn't emptiness, but rather an exploration of the labor embedded in creating "nothing." Consider the materials: paper, pigment, water. Stevns chose these specific materials, processed and manufactured through industrial means. The application of watercolor, seemingly simple, is a deliberate act, a product of his time and training. Editor: So you're saying that the value isn't necessarily in the image itself, but the conscious manipulation of these industrially produced materials? Curator: Precisely. The 'blankness' is deceptive. It forces us to confront the materiality of the art object itself. Consider the paper: Where did it come from? What processes transformed trees into this surface? And the watercolors: pigments derived from the earth, combined with binders, manufactured and distributed. This isn’t just a picture; it’s a product of complex systems of labor and consumption. Editor: I never thought about abstraction in terms of production chains before. It’s fascinating to consider the work as a trace of all that. Curator: Abstraction allows the artist to engage with materials in a self-reflexive way. What can be made through art, and at what expense. Editor: It definitely offers a completely different lens through which to understand the piece! Curator: Absolutely. By focusing on the "how" and "what" of the work's making, we move beyond subjective interpretations and delve into the social and economic forces that shape artistic creation. It gives me pause to see such subtlety made of such common means.