Grazing Cow (Turned to Right) (recto); Hindquarters of a Horse (verso) n.d.

Curator: Welcome. Before us, we have an intriguing work, "Grazing Cow (Turned to Right)," presented along with "Hindquarters of a Horse" on the verso, the date is unknown and is by an anonymous hand. The medium involves pencil, charcoal, and print on paper, and it is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: It's fascinating, the lightness of the lines creates a sense of immediacy, like catching a fleeting moment in the field. I’m struck by its rough, unfinished feel. Curator: Yes, its unrefined nature prompts reflection on the romanticized, often-idealized, depictions of rural labor and animal husbandry throughout art history. Who produced it and their relationship to that labor is absent, obscured. Was this a casual observation by someone detached from the actual physical realities? Editor: That absence of clear context makes me consider the materiality itself—the graphite left by the pencil, the paper's texture, the signs of being handled. This wasn't mass-produced; it was an individual engagement with specific materials to record what was there. The artist making marks to make meaning out of these everyday pastoral scenes. Curator: Precisely. Think of the politics embedded in the choice to depict such a subject and the availability of materials required to do so. This relates to larger structures of power where artistic production is a commodity. It begs questions around whose vision is validated. Does the cow's representation challenge conventional understandings? Editor: Maybe not directly challenge, but offers a softer gaze? Its incompleteness underscores the labor involved in representation itself. Someone had to select that pencil, make it usable and someone had to choose to draw the cow! It encourages me to value the act of seeing and recording as much as what is seen or represented. The materials offer a perspective where labor isn’t so abstracted or easily consumed. Curator: I appreciate that reading of the obscured work, focusing our attention back onto the making of, and grounding us in the material realities surrounding, its existence. Thank you. Editor: It’s the labor, as represented in both subject and media, which gives this humble scene so much meaning, doesn't it?