Georgetown House 1959

Curator: Here we have Aline Fruhauf's "Georgetown House," created in 1959. It's a print, largely executed in graphite. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Stark, and slightly ominous. There's something unsettling in its angles and the towering facade. I almost feel a touch of Edward Gorey lurking within its cityscape. Curator: Yes, it evokes that kind of atmosphere. Note the geometric precision of the house against the more organic, almost frantic, mark-making in the trees and surrounding foliage. You see that throughout Fruhauf's prints; a push and pull between strict order and unruly nature. How do you read this interplay? Editor: The house looms as a symbol of stability or perhaps even social hierarchy against nature's chaos. But look closer. Even the house isn't quite 'right.' It's tilted, almost sagging, as if succumbing to the pressure of its surroundings, it has a kind of fairytale imagery quality about it. The lone figure walking up the stairs… are they approaching something safe, or are they walking into the jaws of something unknown? Curator: An interesting interpretation. Consider, though, the means of production: graphite. Fruhauf chooses a humble material, something accessible. It was a tool for the everyman draftsmen, and architects who literally build structures. Perhaps the choice of graphite levels the playing field and renders the idea of this stable looming social hierachy… slightly less intimidating, it’s literally a structure like all others. Editor: Maybe so, and I won't disagree on the everyman associations you highlight. But I still read the looming form as a visual power play, something meant to inspire, maybe overwhelm. The lone figure on the stairs isn’t just approaching shelter. They are approaching a grand… if slightly off-kilter ideal. Curator: Fascinating how the symbolism changes when looked at in tandem with what it took to produce such works and the other surrounding social connotations. A tug of war for sure, but both inform one another, which leads to a more holistic interpretation of such work. Editor: Indeed. By pulling back a layer of context, or material, it transforms the narrative behind its meaning. Well, that's another perspective gained today!