Texturologie 1958

Curator: Looking at Jean Dubuffet’s 1958 print, "Texturologie," I am reminded of ancient constellations. Editor: Immediately I’m drawn to the materiality—a seemingly endless expanse of texture. You could get lost examining the tactile density and grit of the print. Curator: I see what you mean; the Art Informel movement that Dubuffet was part of certainly prioritized the surface. For me, it conjures something primal, cellular even, something from the deep past bubbling to the surface. Do you sense any connection to ritualistic marks here? Editor: Possibly. While those interpretations certainly resonate, my perspective is more grounded in the actual "stuff" Dubuffet used. I'm fascinated by his defiance of traditional fine art materials, his conscious subversion. It's almost industrial, this overwhelming density. I wonder about the labor involved in achieving this particular aesthetic? Curator: You're right. The name "Texturologie" speaks directly to this interest in materiality, almost an archaeology of surface itself. And to think, matter painting challenged the very notion of a smooth, illusionistic pictorial space... perhaps offering an experience much more aligned with raw, earthly forces. I'm sensing a continuity with Paleolithic cave painting traditions in its embrace of raw mark-making and primordial association. What do you think? Editor: While interesting, my immediate impression is a fascination with how an artist consciously challenged those material conventions; not just of painting, but of printmaking as well. What tools did Dubuffet engage, and why? What was he consciously reacting against in postwar Europe when he decided to go so deliberately primitive in this series? Curator: Questions certainly worth investigating! Editor: This artwork pushes me to contemplate how value judgments arise regarding different creative labor practices. Curator: And on my end, it reveals how artistic experimentation echoes age-old attempts to express fundamental realities through symbol and mark.