Sighthounds 2017

Editor: This is "Sighthounds" by Rose Freymuth-Frazier, from 2017. It seems to be painted with oils or maybe acrylics on canvas. It's a very interesting composition with two dogs flanking a human figure. I’m curious, what’s your take on this piece, especially given its materiality and the artist's choices? Curator: Looking at "Sighthounds," I’m drawn to the interplay between the traditional medium of oil paint and the contemporary subject matter: a woman seemingly adorned with Google Glass, flanked by what appear to be Borzoi dogs. The labor involved in creating this realistically painted scene, rendered in a medium with a long and loaded history, invites a critical look at how digital technology infiltrates and reshapes even the most supposedly timeless forms of artistic expression. The deliberate contrast in "high" art, commercial technologies and class-indicative dogs also speaks of societal structure. Editor: I see what you mean! The traditional medium is juxtaposed with a very modern element. It almost feels like a commentary. What would you say the artist is saying about the materials here? Curator: The artist manipulates oil paints, a medium associated with wealth, portraiture, and skill, to depict contemporary society which suggests they wish us to examine the means and production that often determine worth. And that they are inherently subjective as demonstrated with how technology companies convince us something obsolete still matters. Editor: So, you see the materials themselves as active agents in conveying this message? I hadn’t thought of it that way, more in terms of form. Curator: Precisely. Consider the historical baggage of oil paint: centuries of masterpieces, commissions from the elite, training… The artist takes all of that loaded history and uses it to comment on contemporary society's own obsession with material wealth, digital advancement, and even class status, represented here by the seemingly exclusive breed of dogs. What do you take from the color? Editor: I did not really stop to think of its meaning to be frank! Curator: Looking closely has brought the entire thing into sharper focus for me! I had not fully seen it before!