Poem on his Birthday 1965

Editor: This is "Poem on his Birthday" by Ceri Richards. The crayon and pencil work give the image a playful, almost dreamlike quality. What strikes you about the materials and the way they're used? Curator: The layering of crayon and pencil interests me. Notice how the yellow crayon, almost childlike in its application, borders the central image. It draws attention to the act of creation, to the labor involved in making art, and how Richards blurs boundaries between the spontaneous and the carefully constructed. Editor: So, you're saying the visible process is part of the message? Curator: Absolutely. The materials themselves, humble as they are, speak to a kind of everyday creativity. It makes you wonder about the accessibility of art-making. Editor: I hadn't considered that before. It's more than just the image; it's about how it was made. Curator: Precisely. And that shifts our understanding of what art can be, doesn't it?