Title Page, from Der VII Planeten n.d.

Curator: So, here we have a title page, "From Der VII Planeten," made with etching and engraving on paper. What grabs you first? Editor: It feels like a blend of science and something almost…religious. Listing the planets and associating them with days of the week feels very medieval. How do you interpret this combination? Curator: I see it as an assertion of power and knowledge during a period of significant cultural shift. The intersection of astrology, naming conventions for days, and the act of printing itself reflect broader power dynamics. The ability to categorize the cosmos and disseminate this information represents a very specific claim. Who benefits from this kind of control over information, and whose voices might be excluded or marginalized by it? Editor: That's interesting, thinking about it as a power dynamic. I hadn't considered the printing itself as an act of asserting authority. How does this relate to other works from the time? Curator: Well, consider who had access to literacy and the printing press. Knowledge was not democratized. Looking through an intersectional lens, consider who these images were *not* made for, who *couldn't* access them, and what perspectives are absent as a result. Does understanding this change how you view the visual composition or the artist's intentions? Editor: It makes me think about access to knowledge and how that shapes cultural narratives even now. The act of cataloging can also be a form of exclusion, if only certain perspectives are considered valid. Curator: Exactly! Thinking about the work this way opens up vital conversations about whose stories are told, and whose are left out. Editor: I'll definitely look at older works of art through that critical lens moving forward. Curator: Remember, art is never neutral. It's always participating in a larger conversation about power, identity, and history.