Tray Table c. 1940

Editor: Here we have Robert Cole’s "Tray Table," circa 1940, a rendering in watercolor and drawing on wood. It almost feels like an architectural plan. What strikes me most is its clarity and the way the simple form is so carefully observed. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: The image possesses a remarkable attention to form. The emphasis on line, particularly the parallel verticals of the table legs, establishes a rhythmic structure. Notice how the grain of the wood, meticulously rendered, functions as both texture and pattern, animating the otherwise simple geometric shapes. The use of watercolor, thinly applied, creates subtle tonal variations that model the form and define the light source, though not very successfully since some lines remain flat. Editor: I see what you mean. It’s not exactly photorealistic; it seems more interested in defining shape than mimicking light. Is it trying to show the ideal of a table, more than a real table? Curator: Precisely. Consider how the artist minimizes shadows, flattening the space. This is about reducing the object to its essential visual components: line, shape, texture, and the interplay between them. In the context of Formalism, we interpret it not for its utility as furniture, but for its qualities as an aesthetic object. What kind of relationship does this bear to, say, cubism? Editor: Hmm, I guess you could say that they both break the visual elements to their simpler shapes... Well, I've never thought of furniture as a semiotic investigation into lines! Thanks for making me look closer. Curator: And I in turn thank you, because the simple object presented to us hides multitudes!