The Gargoyle Keeper 

Curator: The texture jumps out at me. Look at how Gustafson coaxes stone and flesh into the same visual plane. You can almost feel the grit of the gargoyle, the almost furry quality of its wings. Editor: This mixed-media piece, possibly entitled "The Gargoyle Keeper", pulls you into a liminal space, doesn’t it? The religious imagery clashes directly with darker, more folkloric ideas around guarding. Curator: Right, I see that friction too. Think about the material process behind fantasy art. The layering of coloured pencils and maybe even painting seems so meticulous – each tiny stroke adds to this density. It reminds me of manuscript illumination; the artist almost becoming a monk-scribe, but rendering secular creatures instead of scripture. Editor: Interesting. The "keeper", probably a monk, looks like he’s paying tribute or perhaps feeding these… gargoyles. This is such an ambiguous transaction. The stained-glass angel is indifferent in the background – do angels care about gargoyles being placated by humble servants of god? This highlights larger power dynamics—institutional versus grassroots. Curator: And yet, all those individual coloured pencil marks are building into that monolithic presence of the cathedral. What does it mean when the labour is that intricate, that careful, but depicts… well, something quite chaotic, like this swarm of gargoyles being appeased? Is the value only in the hours put in or in the reception from others? Editor: Precisely. We can read that complexity further by addressing who gets represented. These "gargoyles" might embody marginalized communities, demanding attention from a complacent system. What narratives of care get overlooked when spiritual power is gatekept? Curator: The question becomes, then, what did Gustafson actually *do* here with these available mediums to construct value within this fantasy framework? It’s not just pretty to look at; there's a dialogue happening between labour, technique, and image. Editor: Right. Looking at this image in 2024, it pushes us to examine how we feed our own anxieties—appeasing internal "gargoyles," perhaps with fleeting internet comforts, rather than forging tangible solidarities within communities. Curator: I’m glad you brought up that broader context! For me, this demonstrates so aptly that an artistic skill is as useful as it is able to touch someone. Editor: Absolutely. Ultimately, it's the piece’s power to incite ongoing reflection, even beyond its creation, that is most moving.