The Great Strike 

Curator: The work before us, titled "The Great Strike," is a compelling drawing rendered in charcoal. The artist, Devin Leonardi, masterfully employs the medium to create a landscape dominated by the wreckage of train engines. Editor: It strikes me immediately as a scene of industrial decay, shrouded in an almost mournful stillness. The limited palette enhances that feeling. What period do you think influenced this? The forms remind me a bit of post-impressionism. Curator: Indeed, the echoes of post-impressionism are noticeable. Look at how the geometric forms of the engines are rendered with an almost obsessive attention to detail, creating texture that’s central to its emotional impact. Editor: And thinking of strikes, I am drawn to consider the representation of labor here. There is the brokenness of the machines, alluding perhaps to an industrial revolt, or possibly to the repercussions of the exploitation of both people and planet within the narrative of industrialized progress. Curator: Precisely. Charcoal as a medium inherently speaks to industrial processes, a byproduct of burning wood, linking it directly to labor and resource extraction. Its friability underscores the precarity of industrial achievements. And, the level of finish, typical of Leonardi’s approach, often blurs the boundaries between high art and traditionally skilled labor. Editor: This certainly adds a layer to our perception. What are we to make of the trains then? As cultural objects they evoke powerful ideas. Perhaps the failure of those grand expectations or maybe more hopeful sentiments around justice for exploited laborers in what, "The Great Strike," alludes to. Curator: I think your reading is fair, and opens to themes such as labor rights, resistance, and ultimately societal transformation, especially given what must have been the intent behind the title that we may, today, view in contemporary society. Editor: So, in closing, we see how Devin Leonardi transforms a scene of ruined locomotives into a tableau of resistance and, perhaps, renewal through this skilled charcoal rendering. Curator: Absolutely, "The Great Strike" stands as a potent commentary on the cost of industrialization, and on what has the potential to arise from such a strike; from its laborious production to its forceful visual impact.