Officer's Mess Knife c. 1938

Curator: This is Vincent P. Rosel's "Officer's Mess Knife," a watercolor and pencil drawing, dating from about 1938. Editor: Immediately, it's the kind of hyper-realistic depiction that makes me question the need to create it in the first place, but there is a curious sense of scale, perhaps like it is more an architectural drawing than a product advertisement. What am I missing? Curator: I see it rather as a study of form, where Rosel explores the interplay of utilitarian design and sharp precision. The drawing emphasizes line and tone over painterly qualities, creating an almost technical rendering, with great consideration for depth. Editor: Yes, technically the watercolor brings a subdued palette – browns, greys. All working toward function; the aesthetic almost feels accidental. A single utensil that unfolds into, what? A feast fit for officer's? Or an aesthetic object? Curator: The object and its deconstruction seem to embody the rationalism and functionalism so prevalent in design at the time. A kind of celebration, I think, of wartime technology in domestic guise. Editor: Interesting – seeing that so clearly requires considering how its social environment impacts art. Me, I get drawn to the formal details, the artist’s skill at rendering textures - the gleam of the metal against the warmth of the wooden handle – I begin to feel how those details humanize an object meant for precision and austerity. Curator: Absolutely, the tension you perceive comes from his careful balancing act. Editor: It’s a curious dance between military necessity and human utility. Overall, a strange illustration, one that makes me wonder why the artist was commissioned to record a fairly innocuous object. Curator: I see it, above all, as the work of a talented artist. What draws me is not necessarily the utility of this instrument. Editor: Ultimately, I get hung up on what this odd and ultimately kind of cute piece means and what Rosel sees in his work.