Window Rock 1983

Curator: This watercolor piece is "Window Rock" by Klaus Fussmann, created in 1983, apparently en plein-air in Arizona. Editor: The washes create this hazy, almost dreamlike quality. The rugged rock formations almost feel like soft mounds. Curator: It's fascinating how Fussmann uses the watercolor medium here. He captures the Arizona landscape with broad strokes. You can almost feel the heat radiating off the paper itself! What labor went into producing watercolors at this time period in order for the plein-air artists to travel and create the landscape? Editor: Exactly, that heat evokes thoughts about land rights, forced relocation, the treatment of indigenous people connected to that landscape, and access to natural resources throughout its history and in contemporary society. The title of the piece can bring forth memories tied to the Indigenous homelands of the region. Curator: Absolutely. I think understanding the watercolor process sheds light on how the artist worked, and the accessibility of watercolors in this period certainly democratized landscape art, allowing artists of different backgrounds to engage with it. There is much artistic freedom granted to those that harness the immediacy of the medium in plein-air practices. Editor: While true, the narratives produced often erased the native inhabitants and their deep connections to the environment. Fussmann’s loose style almost softens the colonial narrative and gives us pause to ask what can be discovered beyond these paintings. It's necessary to remember that whose landscapes and histories are included are often more important than those that have been forgotten. Curator: That tension is interesting. I’m finding myself focusing more on the technical approach today than its relationship to history, though your ideas do impact my personal reception to the piece. Editor: Art encourages continuous re-evaluation. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll be focused on Fussmann's watercolor techniques and its potential effects to the Indigenous narrative that the scene embodies.