Cheese Basket c. 1941

Curator: This is "Cheese Basket," a drawing on paper by George File, dating from around 1941. It strikes me as a detailed exercise in representing form. Editor: Ah, yes, right away it breathes a sense of domestic intimacy. The precision is amazing; it gives the everyday object a gentle dignity, don't you think? Curator: Precisely, it prompts one to consider the cultural implications of basket weaving itself as both art and utility, challenging established hierarchies within the art world. Look at how each strand overlaps to create these star-like openings. This is hardly detached observation! Editor: Oh, I see, yes! There's definitely a sort of joyful order on display. I love how File manages to capture not only the structure, but the light filtering through. Almost playful, if that doesn't sound absurd talking about a basket. Curator: Not absurd at all! This intricate design serves a material function, to hold and preserve. Think about the process: gathering the reeds, soaking them to gain pliability, interlacing, drying. All of these material actions culminating in this very form that is, at its very basic core, geometric and practical. Editor: You're so right to bring in that element of preservation! Cheese, being perishable, suddenly gains another dimension when situated in the woven containment File gives it. Makes one almost nostalgic. And perhaps nostalgic too for the touch, the artistry involved in these everyday skills of previous generations. Curator: Yes, File elevates this humble cheese basket to something worthy of study. This choice, to focus so keenly on an object of such basic, rustic origins, hints at deeper cultural commentary, doesn't it? I mean, what do you even read out of such formal rigor? Editor: Formally, its perfection is deeply calming to look at. This makes me wish to find an old family photo, if possible; my old grandpa had a very similar basket in his backyard, so it holds a different, private emotional key. I imagine a picnic and a rural idyll. Curator: What it tells me, at least, is of File's vision, taking what could have been purely functional to transform it into, well, what we have here! Editor: Agreed. This seemingly simple picture definitely sparks off a multitude of resonances!