Match Safe c. 1940

Neva Coffey made this drawing of a match safe, but we don't know exactly when. It's all in pencil. I'm drawn to the way the drawing emphasizes line and shape to bring forth the ornate character of the object. Look at the face on the front, see how the artist has used cross hatching to create a sense of depth and shadow. And there is a real tension between the flat surface of the paper, and the illusion of 3-D form. It reminds me of a kind of optical game, where you have to do some work yourself, your eyes have to do some work themselves, to find that sense of depth within this image. What's really interesting to me is how the process of drawing itself becomes a way of understanding the object, its texture and detail, while also allowing the artist to bring their own perspective and interpretation to the work. It reminds me a little of the work of Vija Celmins, where there's this real obsessive focus on detail, but also this real sensitivity to the surface of the paper. It's a kind of conversation between the object and the artist, where neither one is fully in control.