Maria Sybilla Merrian 1969

Editor: This is Leonard Baskin's "Maria Sybilla Merian," a print from 1969. There's a really unsettling feeling I get from the fragmented linework and that sort of hazy band across the image. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to the materials and the process itself. Look at the plate marks; think about the labour involved in etching and printing. Baskin isn't just creating an image; he’s engaging in a historical dialogue with the very means of production. This print medium flattens hierarchy between high art and craft by elevating the work and materiality that makes images possible. Editor: So you're less focused on *who* Maria Sybilla Merian was, and more on the "how" of the image itself? Curator: Exactly. Knowing that Merian was a pioneering scientific illustrator, especially of insects, provides some context. But my focus remains on how Baskin, through his manipulation of the printing process, challenges our consumption of images and their connection to the laborious processes of the graphic arts. Note that olive-colored brushstroke? What effect do you imagine this texture might have? Editor: It disrupts the image, obscuring detail, I think perhaps challenging our ease of image consumption. But also there's something else at play here... Curator: Think about how Baskin subverts traditional portraiture, using line and texture to explore the inherent materiality of the printmaking process and asking us to contemplate what images hide. Editor: That makes sense. So, looking at the work this way really changes how we view printed portraiture. I hadn't really considered how labor informs an image. Thanks! Curator: Absolutely. Now, when you look at other prints, consider the relationship between the artist’s hand, the means of production, and ultimately the societal consumption of the final image.