Lock Plate c. 1940

This ‘Lock Plate’ was made by Edward Jewett, and although we don’t know the exact date, he was active in the late 19th and early 20th century. It's a drawing, or a study, I imagine, of a metal lock plate. What's interesting about it is the color, or lack of it, really. It’s almost entirely variations of the same tone, a sort of yellow-tan, which flattens the image while still making it somehow legible. Up close, you can see the individual strokes that describe the feathers of the eagles, but they don't quite add up to a realistic depiction. It’s more like an accumulation of marks that suggest the idea of an eagle, or perhaps the memory of one. The artist really leaned into the limitations of his medium. It reminds me of the work of Forrest Bess, who also used a limited palette and rudimentary drawing skills to create images that are both strange and compelling. Both artists seem to be less interested in representation than in using the act of making as a way of thinking through ideas.