Shoe Shop Sign: Two Views 1935 - 1942

Curator: What’s compelling to me is thinking about the relationship between the handcrafted sign and mass-produced objects. Let’s explore the idea that this is called "Shoe Shop Sign: Two Views," made anonymously between 1935 and 1942 using drawings. It presents these somewhat austere, though elegant, boots. What do you notice first? Editor: Well, immediately the side-by-side presentation makes me think about comparison, and the textures and construction on each are pretty distinct. What's interesting is what the drawing, the medium itself, brings to our understanding of early 20th-century consumerism. Curator: Precisely. The labor involved in producing these hand-drawn signs for mass-produced items raises questions. How does the value get assigned? Does the drawing become secondary? We are talking about class and production as essential to analyzing a work like this, beyond aesthetics. Do you think there's a hierarchy implied between craft and industry here? Editor: It does make you wonder, doesn't it? Was this meant to elevate the shoes, or simply advertise them? Also, given the anonymity, how does the artist's labor factor into the larger context of material culture? Curator: Good question. Perhaps the anonymity forces us to confront how advertising often eclipses the individual worker or creator. Now look closely at the rendering of the materials. The different treatment given to the textures is striking, especially in light of the time it was made and consumed. Editor: That is really astute; I can see that now. So, looking at this work through a materialist lens shifts my attention from the design of the shoe itself to the layers of labor and economics behind the image, behind getting people to want to purchase an object. Curator: Exactly. Understanding the work through its means of production and cultural context offers such insight. It helps unpack how value and desire are manufactured. Editor: It really does. I’ll definitely look at other works differently, considering the entire process of creation and its ties to society.