FANTASMAS DEL CAÑAVERAL 

Editor: We’re looking at *Fantasmas del Cañaveral* by Ramon Oviedo. The specific date isn't available. It seems to be mixed media, watercolor, and maybe impasto on canvas. It has an organic feel and at the same time a ghostly presence. The way the artist handles the material really creates this ethereal landscape... What do you see in this piece from a materialist perspective? Curator: Well, for me, it’s interesting to consider how the "landscape," is not simply represented, but actually *produced* through the artist's labor and use of materials. Notice the rough brush strokes, the build-up of impasto. How does the layering and application of watercolor evoke not just a visual scene, but the actual *process* of growth, decay, and perhaps, exploitation of the sugarcane fields? What are your thoughts on the repetitive mark making visible in this artwork? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn’t really thought about the connection to labor so directly. The repetition of the leaves, especially, makes me think about mass production, the cane being cultivated and cut... the impasto adding a certain weightiness to that idea. Could the watercolor even symbolize the sweat, the sheer human effort involved? Curator: Exactly. It compels us to reflect on the socioeconomic factors involved. Is this depiction merely an aesthetic representation, or does the medium itself become a commentary on the historical realities embedded in the land? Perhaps the *fantasmas* aren't just ghosts, but the lingering impacts of those labor practices embedded within the artwork’s medium and materiality? Editor: I’m starting to see the piece in a whole new light. The materials themselves become evidence of that historical labor! Curator: Indeed. By examining the physicality of the artwork, we expose its relationship to production, consumption and ultimately, the social conditions in which it was made. Editor: Thank you. It's so interesting to consider how the artistic process can be a form of social commentary in itself. Curator: And how considering the artist's process challenges preconceived notions on landscapes in art.