Is It Still High Art? 1979

Curator: This piece immediately strikes me with its intricate arrangement; a complex visual syntax, if you will. Editor: It's dizzying! All those repeated floral motifs—how would you even begin to describe the materials used to create such meticulous detail? Curator: We are looking at "Is It Still High Art?" a mixed-media work from 1979 by Joyce Kozloff. It exemplifies the Pattern and Decoration movement. Editor: Pattern and Decoration... That label immediately makes me consider the textiles and wallpaper traditions often relegated to "craft" rather than "high art". The title feels like a challenge, doesn't it? Are we really elevating these techniques? What labor and time went into rendering those precise, layered patterns? Curator: Precisely. The tension between the aesthetic appeal and the potential devaluing of traditionally "feminine" crafts is central here. Consider how Kozloff manipulates color and form. The radial symmetry within each floral unit and their subsequent tessellation… It’s a rigorous formal exercise. Editor: But surely, it goes beyond just formalism? There is an undeniable reference to historical textile production – maybe even a critique of the social and economic structures of textile manufacturing and the artists’ historical displacement. The "decoration" serves a bigger, more important picture. Curator: No doubt. However, understanding its impact requires us to first acknowledge the artist’s manipulation of design principles: the push and pull created with contrasting palettes, the dynamism achieved through geometric variations. She engages us viscerally before any secondary association with craft and production. Editor: I see your point. There are clearly intentional decisions happening with the repeated forms and color interactions, decisions made within both an art historical context AND a larger societal framework. But even a casual viewer gets some idea of how many hours it must have taken to draw and layer the many patterns of flowers—that itself speaks volumes about "high" and "low" forms of creativity. Curator: Absolutely, and reflecting on both form and fabrication is ultimately the intended goal of Kozloff's ambitious endeavor. Editor: A complex and successful intersection indeed, one that has lingered long in my thoughts after seeing and considering it from your and my perspectives.