Silver Salver c. 1936

This graphite drawing of a silver salver, was made by Clayton Braun, who lived between 1855 and 1995. Looking at this piece I think about the appeal of repetition, and how an accumulation of marks can make something whole. The whole thing has a great lightness of touch. The drawing feels like a study, a way of figuring out how light might reflect on a real, three-dimensional object. See how the repeating floral pattern around the edge of the salver is rendered with a kind of delicate shorthand? It reminds me of the kind of thing Eva Hesse did, finding interest in seriality, but rendered in a sort of illustrative style. The image on the salver combines Native American iconography with symbols of colonial power. The contrast is fascinating, and I am left wondering what it means. This piece reminds me of Ed Ruscha's books. The way he documents the built environment with deadpan objectivity, but allowing for an emotional resonance to emerge from the accumulation of images. Like Ruscha, Braun allows us to see the world anew through the simple act of looking.