Compositie met kleurvlakken 1987

Editor: This is "Compositie met kleurvlakken" – or Composition with Color Planes – by Nono Reinhold, created in 1987. It’s an etching and print. What strikes me is the textures achieved, giving it an almost geological feel. How do you approach a piece like this? Curator: Immediately, I think of the processes involved in creating this image. As a print and etching, the labor of the artist is inherently connected to mechanical reproduction. Consider how Reinhold had to meticulously prepare the plate, incise the lines, and then repeatedly print, creating multiple, though not identical, copies. The 'geometric' forms themselves don’t just appear—they’re imposed onto the material. What is the social context of the making of such multiples? Editor: Interesting! So, instead of just looking at the image itself, you are thinking about how the work came to be, the production. Is there a specific reason why focusing on production is key in this case? Curator: Absolutely. Etchings, especially in the late 20th century, occupy an interesting space. They’re not unique objects like paintings, but neither are they mass-produced commodities like posters. It raises questions about artistic value, skill, and accessibility. Are we valuing the *idea* or the physical labor that made it possible? Who had access to etching as a means of cultural production? Editor: That definitely shifts my understanding. I was focused on the aesthetic qualities, but now I see the layers of artistic process and cultural implications behind it. Curator: And that intersection of artistic choices and the materiality is crucial to appreciating work like Reinhold's composition, especially at that moment of later abstraction when 'making' could become newly visible and important to the works themselves. Editor: Right! I guess understanding the historical context alongside the materiality enhances my ability to actually look at the image, not only "seeing" the aesthetic qualities, but actually thinking through what the artist made.