River Cloud 2002

Wayne Thiebaud created 'River Cloud' with oil paint on canvas, using the traditional tools of a painter's trade. But there's nothing traditional about his perspective. Thiebaud’s rendering of the landscape is so flat, that the colors almost appear as blocks on a grid. The eye dances across the surface, taking in the many different colors, and only gradually comes to realize that this is, in fact, a slice of life, an aerial view of cultivated fields and meandering rivers. The subject matter itself speaks to human intervention on the land: agriculture, and the modification of nature to serve our needs. While the painting seems at first glance to be a straightforward landscape, it is more accurately a record of industry, and a commentary on our relationship to the natural world. Oil paint, with its origins in the earth, is a material expression of this tie. Paying attention to materials, making, and context allows us to understand how even a seemingly straightforward image can speak volumes about labor, politics, and consumption, blurring the lines between fine art and craft.