Atmosphere II 1974

Editor: This is Warren Rohrer's "Atmosphere II" from 1974, created using acrylic paint in a matter-painting style. I’m struck by the subtle texture and the almost meditative quality of the horizontal lines. What aspects of the artwork grab your attention? Curator: I see a fascinating exploration of labor and materiality. Consider the repetitive act of applying those lines. It moves us away from a focus on pure aesthetics and towards an acknowledgement of the artist’s process. Think about the societal valuation of labor inherent to "high" art versus crafts like weaving – which this recalls. Do you think the application of acrylic on this matter painting creates value beyond decoration? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. So, it's less about what the painting depicts and more about how it was made and what materials were used in the artistic practice itself? It challenges the preciousness often associated with painting. Curator: Precisely! We can ask: What kind of physical work was put in by Rohrer? The horizontal lines create value and communicate meaning by the means of the labour that created the art, but also using very modern media. What did painting materials meant to art, industrialism and commercial value at that time? Rohrer is questioning and using value already embedded to those specific material components of art creation, aren’t they? Editor: Yes, now that you point it out, the industrial quality of the acrylic juxtaposed with the hand-drawn lines creates a fascinating tension. Thanks to your perspective, it makes me rethink not just what is on the canvas, but how it got there and how artistic and commercial values interplay! Curator: It encourages us to acknowledge art's means of production.