Kas c. 1937

Editor: So, here we have "Kas," a drawing made around 1937 by Isadore Goldberg, employing charcoal, pencil, and what looks like watercolor. It’s… a rendering of a cabinet! I find the carvings a bit eerie. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, beyond the very tactile representation of this piece of furniture, the question becomes: why make it so meticulously? It's not just documentation, it's an appreciation, a sort of quiet reverence. There’s almost a ghostly presence to it, don't you think? As though the piece holds memories, secrets. Does the ornamentation perhaps represent abundance or family heritage? It certainly wouldn't be out of character for Goldberg to invite that dialogue between past and present through material culture. What does the scale communicate to you? Editor: That makes sense. I was focusing on the rather austere colors and the stillness of the piece and I didn't think to ask *why* depict it at all! Scale-wise, it seems fairly true-to-life. A normal cabinet perhaps. I guess the strangeness comes from capturing it this way, devoid of setting, as a stand-alone item that suddenly demands close inspection. Curator: Exactly! It exists suspended in time, beckoning our own contemplation of domestic spaces and the narratives objects can hold. Does this influence how we might view similar objects of art, I wonder? Editor: Definitely! It’s made me see that even seemingly straightforward depictions have layers waiting to be unpacked. Thanks, this was helpful. Curator: My pleasure, it was rather delicious!