Marabaraba No. 1 

Curator: Standing before us is "Marabaraba No. 1," a piece attributed to Walter Battiss. It's fascinating how Battiss blends what might seem like disparate aesthetics like Pop art and geometric abstraction here. Editor: Whoa, that just vibrated my eyeballs! So bright, so… calculated? Like a Mondrian gone to a carnival. What medium is this? Curator: Without a confirmed date or details about the specific materials used, let's focus on what we see and infer from his known practices. Battiss was invested in printmaking, silkscreen perhaps? I think it’s fair to assess the socio-political environment shaping abstract work and artists. Editor: That would fit. It’s all so clean and flat, like a graphic ad, with lines defining a shape. The way those little striped circles are peppered over the grid gives it almost a game-board feel. Remember those 9 men's morris board games that seem inspired by traditional African culture and social life? Curator: Absolutely, thinking about materiality opens interpretations beyond just geometric pleasure. Could these recurring shapes, the very 'patterns', embody some systematic production of value in the then segregated country. The lines and bold color palettes challenge traditional conceptions. It asks a lot about art. Editor: Hmm, I can almost hear a jaunty 60’s soundtrack in the background, accompanying this! Is that crazy to feel so much lightheartedness coming from a silkscreen? Even with those heavy black lines trying to keep it grounded, it bounces along. I have to know if Battiss enjoyed this creative freedom! Curator: That response is the mark of Pop Art isn't it, blurring joy, social commentary and design. I imagine there was incredible attention to each stage here, too: color choice, compositional harmony. The print making itself has a process and repetitive function and in the content of an art practice, we are asking about value itself. Editor: This reminds me of a game, as art so often is. What if Walter Battiss gave free licence for play, even in a very oppressive moment in history for him, in his culture, during his lifetime? I guess that what is special in the piece is its capacity to resist such classification! Curator: Indeed. "Marabaraba No. 1" embodies the capacity of art to prompt such conversations about design, technique, value and playful liberty. Editor: What a delightful burst of sunshine this has been – time well spent swimming in squares and circles!