In the Temple Hall 1914

Editor: This is August Macke's "In the Temple Hall," a watercolor from 1914. It's funny, it feels almost like a stage set, a backdrop to something larger. What do you make of this space he's created? Curator: Oh, a stage set indeed! It feels transient, like a dream half-remembered. I see Macke wrestling with how to represent the spiritual and cultural "other." Remember, this came about after his travels to Tunisia, and the encounter was clearly impactful. The shapes are flattened, colours intense but dreamy. Look how he plays with geometric patterns, those repeated diamond shapes in the floor... What do they suggest to you? Editor: They seem to ground the more fluid forms of the figures and architecture, create a tension maybe? I find the colours calming, despite them being expressionistic. Curator: Precisely! There is serenity but also a sense of detachment, like looking at a memory through glass. It makes me think about the ways we, as outsiders, frame and maybe unintentionally ‘sanitize’ other cultures. Macke is capturing his feelings; but how much of it is truly *there* and how much is projection, do you think? Editor: That’s a complicated question! I guess it's a mixture of both, really – his individual expression filtered through his own cultural lens. It’s fascinating how such a simple watercolor can spark such profound thoughts. Curator: Art does that best, doesn’t it? A fleeting image containing an ocean of unspoken stories, feelings and critical observations about self and world, if you allow yourself to see beyond the easy picture. A quick visit to a Temple turns into a life’s philosophical inquiry.