Ranchos Church, New Mexico 

Editor: This is "Ranchos Church, New Mexico," a painting by Georgia O'Keeffe. It seems to be done in oil paint, maybe watercolor as well? I find the stark, geometric shapes of the church against the soft sky so striking. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Well, let’s think about the materials used. O'Keeffe chose to depict this vernacular architecture with paint—pigments mixed with oil or potentially watercolor depending on the effect she wanted to achieve. Consider the labor involved: from grinding pigments to preparing the canvas or paper, the physicality of creation. It isn't a photograph, it's constructed. Why take the long path with these techniques when there were options for modern industrial methods to picture art at that time? Editor: That’s a great point! I hadn’t really considered the active choice of painting. Why do you think she went with this slower process? Curator: Perhaps because the slow, deliberate application mirrors the slow accretion of history embodied by the adobe church. Also, the raw materiality of the church in her view may not be what a simple representation would display. How the hand shapes, not the picture itself. Do you think that, by embracing that deliberate physical action, she elevated a common, almost "low" form into a subject of fine art? Editor: Definitely! Seeing it in that light, the very act of painting becomes a statement about valuing this structure. It's more than just a building; it’s about preserving culture and labor through artistic production. Curator: Exactly. And by bringing attention to that building’s materiality through painting's own material nature, we're prompted to rethink what "art" is, who makes it, and what stories it can tell us. The dialogue of hand labor and image making. Editor: This has completely shifted how I see the painting. I appreciate the labor and material context so much more now. Thank you!