Untitled (Auto Paint Shop) 1937

Chet Harmon La More made this drawing of an auto paint shop with graphite on paper. The network of lines here creates not just an image, but also a sense of the labor involved in the auto industry. The careful shading defines the smooth skin of the car bodies and the muscularity of the workers. The artist pays close attention to the organization of labor in the shop, showing menial tasks being carried out, as though on an assembly line. Long tubes connect spray guns to tanks, creating an umbilical relationship between the workers and the means of production. La More, through his drawing, brings dignity to the work while also acknowledging its repetitiveness and the worker's dependence on factory machinery. It is important to understand this drawing not just as an aesthetic object, but also as a document of labor in the early 20th century, blurring the lines between fine art and social commentary.