Small Chest c. 1936

Curator: "Small Chest," a drawing from around 1936 by E. Boyd. At first glance, it feels like stumbling upon a child's secret dream, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. I’m immediately drawn to the almost whimsical, stage-like construction of space here. A guitarist sits centrally, surrounded by floating floral details against an unusual rendering of sky and wood. Curator: Stage-like is perfect. Boyd really orchestrates a visual world here. What’s fascinating to me is the moon – or is it a portal? It hangs heavy with its lock shape on the surface – inviting and maybe even daring me to come a little closer. Editor: That central “moon,” with its stark keyhole shape, creates such a bizarre tension. It’s the convergence point for all of these structural lines and curves and, I think, what ultimately allows Boyd to integrate the two-dimensional field here. The guitarists costume design and positioning seem secondary. Curator: Right! Because everything about this work feels intentionally contradictory and I just want to feel what Boyd felt while rendering it on toned paper. Editor: In terms of pictorial structure, what do you think that Boyd hoped to unlock within us as the observer with their curious blend of colour washes and stark, illustrative contouring? The use of the red within those top and lower registers almost gives an order, an equation to follow when analysing its subject matter. Curator: Or maybe, in true mischievous artist fashion, it’s all a fun, albeit symbolic diversion from what matters most to the artist. Something maybe only Boyd and perhaps even the intended possessor of the illustrated "Small Chest" truly knows. That might be what Boyd's vision is meant for at all. Editor: You may be onto something—Perhaps art's magic lies not just in what we see, but also in those untold, unseeable, narratives. And perhaps too what can be found outside what we know of as concrete perception of vision itself. Curator: I'd say we've certainly unlocked a perspective on Boyd’s world here, right? It makes you wonder what he dreamed and experienced when creating this…