Verso: Traces of Sketch of Bison c. 1912 - 1913

Curator: Henri Gaudier-Brzeska's "Verso: Traces of Sketch of Bison"—it's just lines, but it really grabs you, doesn't it? Editor: It does. The rapid lines suggest a sense of urgency, a need to capture this animal's form. The bison as a symbol is potent, linked to land, survival, and colonial encounter. Curator: I love that. Like a prehistoric emoji. But beyond that, it feels like Gaudier-Brzeska is searching, almost caressing the form. Editor: Yes, the bison becomes a site of projection, a screen onto which we map our understandings of nature and culture, dominance and vulnerability. Curator: It’s so interesting how a handful of lines can provoke so many ideas. Editor: Exactly. Perhaps that’s the power of art, to make us pause, to make us think critically about our place in the world.