Martin's - New Orleans 1937

Editor: So, this is A. Simcock's "Martin's - New Orleans," made in 1937. It’s a pencil drawing, almost a print-like quality. It feels...documentary, a slice of life. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Well, the first thing I notice is the conscious use of readily available materials. Pencil, paper, subjects likely drawn from observation in their usual environment. How does this accessibility, this unpretentious method of production, shape our understanding of the scene? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way. It's interesting you frame the ordinary material of pencil as making a statement. Curator: Exactly! Look at the repetition of form. The hats, the similar suits, the circular tables. Are these indicative of a society bound by particular modes of consumption, of the effects of mass-produced goods on individual expression? Editor: Definitely, there’s a kind of uniformity. So, you're suggesting that even this depiction of a seemingly mundane interior tells us something about social structures and material conditions? The common man perhaps. Curator: Precisely. Think about how the labor required to produce the items on the shelves, or the textiles that create the uniformity in dress is deliberately being rendered through the repetitive mark making involved in the pencil. Is Simcock emphasizing a shared human experience of labor? Editor: I see. So, it’s not just *what* is depicted, but also *how* it’s made that matters. It sort of democratizes art viewing. Curator: In some ways, yes. Reflecting on this piece, the chosen medium directs us to consider who art is for, who creates it, and what materials truly constitute value. Editor: Thanks, I’ll never look at a pencil drawing the same way. The focus on materials makes the everyday seem pretty extraordinary, or at least worth a lot of thought.