ZEIT Magazine – Issue 22 Cover Illustration – A conversation about life and death with oncologist Michael Hallek. 

Editor: So, here we have an illustration by Owen Gent, apparently a cover for ZEIT Magazine, accompanying an article about life and death. The piece is rendered in watercolor and appears to be some form of digital painting, portraying an abstracted landscape with a bird. I am really captivated by the juxtaposition of freedom and constraint it evokes. What's your perspective on this work? Curator: Given the context—life and death—it's interesting to consider the materiality of this illustration. We know it's watercolour, often associated with fleetingness because of the fluid nature of the medium itself, digitally composed. Look closely, and one can almost perceive the labour invested, as well as question if it’s the means by which an art object conveys a given meaning that renders it distinct as "high art." Are painting and watercolour inherently separate in labor from illustration in design, or from, say, a political banner with those same media on it? Editor: That’s a great point about materiality. I hadn’t really considered the implications of using watercolour, but the inherent tension of the means definitely heightens its conceptual power. I keep thinking about process and intention. I wonder, too, about how the availability of watercolour or digital paints impacts its perceived value, compared to, say, oil. Curator: Exactly! Think about the production and consumption involved. The reproduction of the image, as a cover for a mass-produced magazine, inherently divorces it from the "aura" of the unique art object and arguably transforms it into a readily accessible commodity. Do you think the fact it originally appeared in the ZEIT shapes our understanding? Editor: Definitely! Knowing it was for a German publication adds another layer of meaning for me; I tend to look for socio-political meaning in German art. This perspective about high art is all completely new to me, and I find it completely changes how I perceive the intention and artistic statement. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about art through the lens of material, production and distribution is always revealing!