Comb Wall Case 1938

Editor: This is “Comb Wall Case,” a mixed-media piece from 1938 by Alexander Anderson, incorporating drawing and charcoal on wood. I find the combination of the charcoal rendering and the geometric carved wood to have a curious sensibility...what do you see when you look at this? Curator: Well, firstly, there’s an immediate connection to craft, to a bygone era. I feel the hand of the maker, you know? The wood grain rendered in charcoal, almost like an x-ray revealing the object's soul. It also hints at utility elevated to art. Like, could you imagine it holding a gentleman’s pipe and tobacco? Editor: Yes! And the somewhat fantastical architecture of it! Curator: Absolutely! Don't you think this work reminds you of regionalism? Think of those stoic, Depression-era crafts born out of necessity and imbued with so much heart and resilience! But I keep wondering about its purpose and context... Does the contrast between the refined drawing and the rustic wood change your understanding? Editor: It makes me think of something almost theatrical, like a prop from a play about simpler times. Curator: Yes, or perhaps even stage design. There’s a palpable tension between the object's intended practicality and its artistic rendering. Makes me think… where might it reside now? Hanging proudly in a sunlit room of an eclectic collection perhaps, still provoking questions? What did this discussion open up for you? Editor: It got me to view it as something more complex. I came in seeing only the medium and not the intent, or, as you so eloquently put it, the soul. Curator: Isn’t that what all art is for really? To reveal new pathways in familiar territories?