Actress Reading a Script 

Editor: So, this piece is titled "Actress Reading a Script," by Iwo Zaniewski, and appears to be done in pencil and colored pencil. It gives off a feeling of everyday life, a peaceful, quiet mood. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The artist's choice of colored pencil, almost scrubbed onto the surface, really interests me. It democratizes the image; it's a technique accessible to nearly everyone, not the realm of high art oils. Look at how that repetitive mark-making builds the forms. Where do you think this tedious, hand-worked application takes us? Editor: Maybe away from traditional artistic skill, to something more like craft or a personal, handmade expression? The kind anyone could create? Curator: Exactly. The material and the way it's applied levels the playing field. The scene itself supports that—a very intimate moment, a glimpse into the work, and likely domestic life, of an actress. It rejects that public-facing idea of fame and explores this… labor instead. Even that title directs us. Think of all the preparation that comes before performance. Editor: I hadn't considered the labor aspect. The materials almost trick you into overlooking the artist's intent and skill because they're so…common. Curator: Yes. But what is “skill” anyway? Zaniewski makes us ask what value judgements we're bringing to the image, and the definition of “art” itself. Editor: This has definitely opened my eyes to reading images in a new way; focusing less on who an artist is and focusing more on what materials the art is comprised of. Curator: Precisely. Now, we can consider how it reshapes what is understood about artmaking and how art comes to mean, challenging long-held assumptions.