Lannerda 

Editor: So, this is a piece called "Lannerda," made with pen and ink by Muirhead Bone. It has a tranquil quality, with a lake and some buildings near the water's edge. What stands out to you as you examine its material properties? Curator: What I see first is Bone's active labor, evidenced through the dense network of pen strokes. Consider the ready availability of ink and pen during the likely period this was created and the rise of industrialized paper production. Bone has a direct engagement with representing the landscape, but it's also a product of his time—reliant on specific materials made possible by larger economic forces. Does the seeming sketch-like quality suggest anything to you in the context of industrialised image making? Editor: Well, I guess it feels more immediate and personal compared to a photograph or a mass-produced print. The hand of the artist is really visible in the variations of the pen strokes, something unique. Curator: Precisely! That physicality and expression within a manufactured, material world. Now think about the subject: Lannerda, presumably a location. The sketch emphasises the unique place of 'Lannerda,' transforming what could have been any waterside locale with humble buildings into art. In this process what begins as material and place becomes commodified into artistic 'creation'. Bone has intervened, hasn't he, through the very labor of drawing? Editor: It’s interesting to consider how the material qualities and production influence its artistic significance. Seeing it as more than just a picture, but also a product of a certain industrial process of artmaking. Curator: Exactly. It reveals how the artist, place, and materials become interwoven within specific economic conditions. Thinking materially encourages us to go beyond pure aesthetics. Editor: That really broadened my perspective! Thank you.