Just Waiting c. 1940

Editor: This charcoal and pencil drawing, "Just Waiting" by Veronica Helfensteller, made around 1940, is so strange! The animals all grouped together feel tense, expectant, yet also strangely static. What do you see in this piece, what strikes you? Curator: The clustering of such disparate animals immediately suggests a reading rooted in power dynamics and representation. Helfensteller, working in a period rife with social and political upheaval, likely uses this grouping to explore societal hierarchies. Are these animals "waiting" for something specific, or are they trapped in a perpetual state of anticipation dictated by unseen forces? Editor: That's interesting. I was just thinking of it as a surreal grouping. What forces would dictate their waiting? Curator: Think about the 1940s – the rise of totalitarian regimes, the impending war. Consider also the constraints placed upon women artists at the time. Could these animals represent different social groups, their proximity a reflection of forced co-existence or an imposed hierarchy? What does it mean to place a vulnerable deer next to a predatory bird, all under the looming presence of the giraffes and camel? Editor: I didn’t think about it in terms of social groups. So, is the “waiting” potentially a metaphor for the anxieties and uncertainties of the era? Curator: Precisely. And what does "Just Waiting" imply? Is there a resignation, or perhaps a subtle critique of the passive acceptance of the status quo? The composition, with its dark, dense charcoal, reinforces this sense of unease and confinement, a feeling surely familiar to those marginalized by society. What if we saw this through a feminist lens, for example? Editor: Wow, I had not considered it from those angles. I was too focused on the surreal aspects. Thank you for expanding my perspective! Curator: It is crucial to look at art as a reflection of its time, its societal pressures, and the artist’s unique voice within that context. Hopefully, this discussion opens a window to new ways of seeing.