Heteromorphism 1951

Editor: This is Richard Hamilton's "Heteromorphism," an undated print from the Tate. It's delicate, almost like a scientific diagram, and I'm curious about its meaning. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see an emphasis on the printmaking process itself. How does the labor of etching and the materiality of the plate interact to produce these forms? Look at the textures, the subtle variations in the ink. Is it a deliberate blurring of the line between high art and industrial process? Editor: So, you’re saying it’s less about what the shapes *represent* and more about how they were *made*? That's a perspective shift for me. Curator: Exactly. Perhaps Hamilton is questioning the preciousness of art by highlighting its production. What does it tell us about our consumption of images? Editor: I never considered the work in terms of its manufacture. I see the piece very differently now, focusing on the "how" instead of the "what".