Metro Possibly 1945 - 1946

Curator: Look at this powerful drawing titled "Metro," likely from 1945 or 1946, by the Algemeene Vrije Illegale Drukkerij. It's rendered in ink on paper, part of a printed narrative, seemingly from a publication. What’s your immediate response? Editor: Visually, it’s grotesque, deliberately so. It strikes me as a commentary on power and manipulation, perhaps even corruption. There's a Frankensteinian feel, literally signaled by a little title on a book on the left! But who's operating here? Curator: Considering its production by the Algemeene Vrije Illegale Drukkerij, a free press group during the war, this work needs to be placed against the Nazi occupation and the Dutch collaborationist movements. I think it's probably an allegorical cartoon in direct opposition of collaboration with oppressors. What could you tell me about such depictions during that period? Editor: During that time, such underground presses often served as vital sources of information and resistance. Considering it, "Metro" takes on greater significance. We should examine how such political messaging was delivered outside officially sanctioned channels. Let me see here, I wonder about the clear letters all over the body of this assembled person - UN, R.K. L.S.A - likely meant to signify different collaborating or infiltrated national organizations. Curator: Absolutely. The drawing style, while caricatured, served to underscore specific traits associated with each group or figure, often tapping into popular sentiments and anxieties about collaboration, power and propaganda. Note how, for instance, they placed "UNI" on the person's head, potentially meaning an intent to dehumanize it. Editor: I do appreciate how it all culminates into an angry monster; very effectively visualized by what seems to be an ongoing experiment in a lab. A hand appears to be stitching pieces on the body of the creature, implying the violent making of monstrosities. In looking at this illustration, I realize the significance of free press and wonder, how was this perceived? Curator: These illegal publications were not merely sources of news; they were acts of defiance, offering alternative perspectives and fostering resistance against collaborationist and Nazi ideologies. Their reach helped to shape and influence societal responses. Editor: Thinking about the context, and reading in between its lines of symbolism... the artwork speaks volumes about resisting oppression, in the moment and even to the day.