Desk 1935 - 1942

Editor: This drawing, simply titled "Desk," dates from 1935 to 1942 and is attributed to Lawrence Phillips. It's a watercolor, surprisingly enough. The rendering of the wood grain gives it such a realistic feel, but there is also something bureaucratic and cold. I mean it's literally the BACK of a desk. What social contexts shaped a work like this? Curator: That bureaucratic and cold feel, as you call it, is interesting. Consider the period, the late 30s into the early 40s. Governmental organizations were expanding rapidly with the New Deal in the USA, and war efforts internationally. Desk No. 1 here represents this institutional build-up, even the mundane object of the desk takes on political and social significance. Does it perhaps become a tool of power? Editor: That's a very insightful connection to the sociopolitical climate of the time. So, viewing this seemingly simple rendering as a symbol of institutional power, it does make you wonder about the purpose of presenting just the back. Why show the side no one sees? Curator: Precisely. The hidden or unseen parts of power structures are often just as critical as what is presented publicly. Phillips maybe suggesting a critical view on the inner workings. Does focusing on "back view" of the desk become a critical commentary about hidden bureaucracy? Editor: It’s remarkable how much history can be embedded in what appears to be a simple image. It shifts how you consider everything from a common drawing of a utilitarian object, or what its intended meaning really is, by viewing through the social and political framework in the time the piece was made. Curator: Exactly. By understanding that historical lens, this becomes more than a sketch; it transforms into an insight of power and place that connects back to ourselves.