Struikgewas 1939 - 2009

Editor: Right, let’s talk about Kees Stoop’s "Struikgewas," created between 1939 and 2009. It’s a landscape drawing using charcoal, frottage and pen on paper. The heavy use of charcoal gives it such a dense, almost oppressive feel. What are your thoughts on this piece? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the labour involved. Notice the interplay between frottage—rubbing—and the more deliberate mark-making with charcoal and pen. This tension speaks to a dialogue between chance and control within the means of production. What was Stoop engaging with in this laborious depiction of foliage? Editor: It does feel almost repetitive. Do you think that connects with any wider cultural ideas? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the post-war context in which much of this work was created. Labour became a really charged concept. Does the act of repeatedly rendering these bushes, almost obsessively, become a kind of commentary on industrial labor and how human and natural processes intersect? Editor: So you see the physical making of the piece as central to its meaning? Curator: Precisely. And the choice of materials, accessible and immediate. Charcoal, pen, frottage. There's no preciousness here, everything’s immediate, reflecting perhaps a democratizing of artistic practice. A ready availability mirrors nature itself. Editor: That’s fascinating! I hadn't considered how the everydayness of the materials feeds into the meaning. Curator: Exactly! By analyzing the materials and techniques, we uncover social and historical layers otherwise missed by a solely formalist reading. Editor: Thanks for shedding light on the materiality and context of this piece. I'm starting to see how closely the meaning is tied to the means of production. Curator: And I learned that seeing an image in art is just not enough. Thanks!