Elevation of Back Facade of the Kings House, Richmond, Surrey 1727 - 1740

Curator: Well, this is quiet. Almost… mournful. The King's House in Richmond as seen by Augustus Heckel between 1727 and 1740. Just the back facade rendered in a somber wash. Editor: "Somber" is an interesting choice. I see instead the detached confidence of Neoclassicism, especially its preoccupation with civic virtue and order, and I immediately look at the social hierarchies implicated in the drawing of such a house. Who inhabited, who served, who was excluded? Curator: I suppose I am affected by the rather ghostly pale grey the artist used. It’s so muted and the landscape is missing; without context it feels so remote. Like a memory fading at the edges. Did you notice those perfect orbs atop? It does invite you to reflect on class and power, and that cold controlled palette kind of accentuates it. It feels rather inhuman to me. Editor: Precisely! The architecture in and of itself makes that argument, as a built manifestation of colonial and imperial power structures. Think about how architecture functions in creating spatial relationships reflective of hierarchical control. Each pillar, window, story is designed with authority in mind. Curator: As someone trained as an artist, the drawing and precision alone astonishes me. It is the perfect example of Realism. So clinical in execution. Editor: Absolutely clinical – an elevation more than an evocation. The very style serves to distance the viewer from any potential empathy. These architectural plans aren’t really meant for our viewing pleasure; they are diagrams, after all. Meant to represent what bell hooks has discussed regarding how the white supremacist-capitalist patriarchy controls identity by separating and dividing the internal from the external, and repressing emotional identification. Curator: You bring up an extremely important point, as well as completely framing the image in an original point of view. Now I see that what appears quiet also carries that weight of power. In its plainest presentation, that building holds that exact kind of presence you describe. Editor: I am hopeful that people recognize the ways these structures maintain power through visual representation. Even something as apparently innocuous as a building plan. Curator: As an artist I try to think beyond, and with hope that it gives a reason and more context for how these places can work within these social dynamics in the contemporary sphere. Editor: Here's to hoping.