Andiron c. 1938

Curator: This graphite and pencil drawing from around 1938, by Jack Staloff, is titled simply, "Andiron." Editor: It has a somber, sturdy elegance. A real weight, even in graphite, if that makes sense. It makes me want to build a fire, even though it's just a picture. Curator: Staloff's handling of light and shadow gives a pronounced volumetric feel to the geometric solidity of the ironwork, achieved through careful gradation and considered realism. The piece’s value structure and arrangement is what really caught my eye initially, especially how form manifests from darkness and then dissolves gradually. Editor: I love that the artist didn’t pretty it up; there’s this almost brutal honesty in depicting this humble object, its texture, almost rough. There is almost something timeless about a solid geometrical shape combined with very tactile details that create the andiron. Curator: Certainly, one sees here an exemplar of straightforward object representation – a devotion to realistically illustrating material form through strictly observed gradations of light across the iron object’s faceted head and cylindrical structure, and how it mediates one's phenomenological perception. There's nothing superfluous or stylized about this work. Editor: Precisely. I love the quiet, almost meditative observation. To sit with something this common, this utilitarian, and find something worthy of translating it into art – that’s compelling. It suggests that beauty or worth is there for us to find if we stop to see it. You look at this and, it’s an ordinary object made somehow extraordinary, just by looking closely. Curator: Yes, the artist’s rigorous examination and depiction elevates the quotidian. The drawing compels the viewer to perceive structural and elemental features of quotidian industrial design often ignored or dismissed, an approach reminiscent of analytic cubism and pre-war functionalist principles of formal construction. Editor: Thinking of sitting by the fire makes you want to be still and present in that warmth. The artwork’s beauty encourages me to reflect more. Curator: A most stimulating engagement! Editor: Indeed, a rewarding observation.