Hinge c. 1940

Editor: Okay, next up is "Hinge," a watercolor drawing from around 1940 by Franklyn Syres. It's... well, it's literally a drawing of an old hinge. I’m struck by how decorative it is! What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: You know, hinges aren't typically what sets my soul soaring, but there's something about this. Syres elevates the mundane, doesn't he? Makes you wonder what this hinge held together. Maybe the gates to a secret garden or the dusty door of a forgotten library? It’s all possibilities, held in rusted metal. Editor: I hadn’t thought about what it *held*. I was too busy noticing how the rust and decorative bits contrast. So, it's like Syres is asking us to find the beauty even in decay? Curator: Precisely! And more than beauty, perhaps... a sort of hidden functionality, a beauty *born* from function. It’s decorative, yes, but it screams purpose, too, even in this quiet, still moment. He really wants us to contemplate its past life, its utility. What kind of doors opened because of this humble thing? Editor: Wow, okay. It definitely feels less... still life-ish now. I see this little hook there, now I wonder at what it used to hold fast. Curator: Absolutely! This artwork makes me consider how often we overlook the little things. We race through our days, ignoring the details, the silent, steadfast servants holding our lives together, quite literally in this case. It invites us to slow down, doesn't it? To find poetry in the ordinary. Editor: I guess so! It has, for me, actually. Thanks, I'm seeing old hardware in a whole new light! Curator: My pleasure.