Untitled 

Editor: Here we have George Bunker's "Untitled" landscape, created with what looks like pencil, colored pencil, and pastel on paper. It’s a seemingly simple composition, but the textures of the rock formations in the foreground really draw me in. What’s your take on this piece? Curator: Considering this piece from a materialist perspective, I find myself wondering about the origin and accessibility of these materials to Bunker. Pencils, coloured pencils, and pastels – these weren't always commonplace. What social strata could access quality materials and explore leisure activities like landscape drawing? The drawing itself shows evidence of process. Notice the spiral binding on the page – this was likely a sketchbook, a tool for on-site study. Editor: That's interesting – so you’re focusing on the role of the physical materials and the labour embedded in creating the drawing itself. Did Bunker's process deviate much from what would've been the norm at the time? Curator: Deviation isn't necessarily the point. The work’s significance lies in understanding its position within a broader system of production and consumption. Was this made for public display, or a personal study? The paper itself, likely mass-produced, contrasts with the individual act of artistic creation. How do those relationships change our interpretation? Editor: So by analyzing the materials, we're essentially uncovering the social and economic layers intertwined with artistic creation. I'll never look at a landscape drawing the same way again. Curator: Precisely. And thinking about who controls those materials, and for what purpose, offers insights into power dynamics during the era in which Bunker was working. There is always something there to be investigated!