Foot Scraper 1937

Editor: Here we have Milton Grubstein's 1937 pencil drawing, "Foot Scraper". The artist really captures the sculptural quality of what would normally be a very utilitarian object. How would you interpret the choice to depict this particular item? Curator: Considering the materials, the common foot scraper is typically wrought iron, cast, hammered and bolted; robust stuff. Yet Grubstein has taken pencil to paper to capture a foot scraper, a domestic object rooted in the mundane. His meticulous line work elevates it to the realm of fine art while prompting us to question the labour involved in both its creation and its original purpose. Are we meant to consider the social implications of who would have used this object, and who might have made it? Editor: That's interesting – the blurring of high art and craft through the chosen subject. Do you think the geometric and floral elements have any significance? Curator: Absolutely. The geometric form of the scraper itself, juxtaposed with the organic, almost art nouveau-like, leaf detailing invites a conversation about industrialization versus handcrafted design, the push and pull in the labour process of the time, the period between wars, between industry and handmade, maybe even questioning elitism through making visible something otherwise ordinary. It encourages us to look closely at the intersections of utility and aesthetic value within our own society, no? Editor: I see your point. I was just focusing on the art element but there is clearly more to the piece! Thanks! Curator: And thanks to you. Thinking through the lens of materiality really changes how we perceive art, doesn't it? It invites us to really see how meaning is embedded in materials and processes, to then challenge existing structures.