Two, Stapler 1968. It is a painting of a black swing line stapler on a black background.

The audacity of this painting irritated many older artists as it looks like a poorly lit

photo and an office supply catalog. Look closely at the black of the stapler and the black

of the background. Is all darkness the same? How absent is light in the absence of light?

Tatiana on the surface is displaying her technical skills. It is photographic quality in every way.

It looks like almost an advertisement here on the Ulster Museum wall.

Perhaps Tatiana was making a commentary on the commentary of the pop art movement.

But most likely she's simply showing off her technique. She was quite prolific in her art

and they're all good works as you can see here in Belfast. But in her mind mastery of form

was mastery of art but in my mind an artist can always do more. In Cornwall there were cliffs

overlooking the sea. At high tide I would take off my clothes and dive the 10 meters drop.

I encourage Claudia to dive with me but she couldn't do it. These beautiful cliffs along an

endless cool sea. The scene she could paint and did but not one she could truly explore.

For fear of what? Not heights. She did not flinch at bending over the ledge. Not water either.

She swam regularly when she could walk down to the shore.

I always wanted her to jump, to plunge, to risk pain or embarrassment to feel bodily the glory of

this rare nature, to paint something truly epic, busy, tall, complex, masterful.

To make more astonishing what was already astonishing. To free fall into the vastness that

contains both wilderness and tranquillity. But when eyes were on Claudia she'd emerged.

She believed in frightful conspiracies and intimidated power brokers of the new society.

But when the world looked at her for commentary she sometimes just wanted to paint staples.

There has been so much talk about Artyano recently, so much speculation. People say she's disappeared.

...