Sand Casting 1767

Curator: Robert Bérnard's "Sand Casting," preserved at the Harvard Art Museums, appears to be a technical illustration. It's monochrome, quite detailed, and visually striking. Editor: It feels almost futuristic, doesn't it? But also… distant. Like looking at instructions for a machine I'll never understand. The precision is both fascinating and a little sterile. Curator: Precisely! Note the methodical arrangement—a visual taxonomy of forms. The stark presentation emphasizes the relationships between them. Editor: I see a narrative thread. It's all about process, isn’t it? The gradual unveiling of a shape… a wheel perhaps? It's a meditation on creation, if you ask me. Curator: Indeed. The focus isn't on the finished artifact, but the alchemical transformation itself. The artist seems to be saying something quite profound about the nature of making. Editor: It makes me think about the beauty inherent in the mundane, the poetry hidden in processes. Thanks to Bérnard, I now see a secret language in something as simple as sand.