Bloemstuk 1778 - 1838

Curator: What a gorgeous collection of blooms. They almost tumble out of the vase. Editor: I find it curious—almost defiant, that a botanical arrangement as elaborate as this is set against a blurred background in dull watercolors. A real clash of intentions! Curator: Tell me more! Editor: Well, here we have this exquisite rendering called "Bloemstuk," or Flower Piece, attributed to Anthonie van den Bos and dating roughly from 1778 to 1838, done in watercolors on paper. You have an artistic sensibility. Tell me, what do you see in it? Curator: A riot of color. So full of life and, I daresay, maybe even a touch… theatrical? The blossoms all but bursting from their container against what looks like an idyllic scene—or at least, the suggestion of one. You know, I’ve always wondered what the story is behind paintings like these. Were they faithful renderings, or... Editor: Constructs? Very astute question. What does it suggest when viewed as an artwork born in an era that violently extracted and commodified spices and tea, for instance? When we begin to question the politics embedded in aesthetic renderings of flowers—things grow in perspective. I invite listeners to notice, especially, the contrast between foreground and background: between detailed flower pot and garden versus washed out landscaping. The violence needed to transport exotic botanical elements gets whitewashed by being visually pushed away into soft hazy strokes that almost disappear into nothingness. Curator: What a lens! You know, to me, art can be anything. It can be an exploration. These choices of color and texture and perspective—maybe this is how the artist chose to engage with the subject matter? Maybe they were just trying to convey an intense impression... Maybe they want me to imagine all of them having just sprung up at once in an untamed land that is fading with the passage of time! A little melancholic and utterly gorgeous at the same time. Editor: "Melancholy" and "gorgeous" might just mask power and privilege. We all can work together towards decolonizing both aesthetic judgments and curatorial interpretation, to notice what might lay hidden beneath even—or, especially—art that appeals to one's emotional senses. It can truly reveal the world as it is, and the structures of seeing it as such!