Clock 1936

Curator: This piece, quite simply titled "Clock," was drawn in 1936 by Lawrence Phillips using colored pencils. Editor: Oh, I get a nostalgic vibe immediately. It feels like a memory, almost faded, but meticulously drawn. The stillness is almost deafening, like when the house is quiet and you can only hear the ticking. Curator: Phillips, although not a very publicly known name, dedicated quite a bit of artwork to depicting everyday, often antiquated objects like this clock. It speaks, I think, to the Depression-era sensibility, a certain appreciation for the simple, lasting items in people's lives. What I find interesting is how the use of the color pencil offers precision and accuracy not just of its shape, but also highlights all of its details. Editor: Right, there’s something inherently humble and accessible about a colored pencil drawing, isn't there? This makes me think about how time, symbolized by the clock, became this widely measurable element tied so closely to capitalism in that same era, but Phillips distills it to this individual household level. A personal gauge rather than an economic one. Curator: Precisely. I wonder, what’s captured your attention about it specifically? Editor: The frame around the clock-face—it almost looks like a miniature stage. It makes me wonder what ‘performances’ or stories that clock oversaw within a home. I also love how solid the structure of the clock is in Phillips’ rendition; not particularly stylish or embellished but built to last. Curator: Well, it offers us a tangible reminder that even simple objects, when rendered with care and thought, can be a kind of poetry. An archive of moments. Editor: That’s lovely. It reminds us that time, like art, is a construct and like Phillips’s "Clock", they both endure beyond our immediate experiences.