Untitled (Machine Ornament) c. 1923

This is an undated drawing called 'Machine Ornament' by Louis Lozowick. It’s a kind of diagrammatic fantasy of architecture made with black ink on paper. The geometry is so exact, but it's also playful – like an engineer let loose with a sense of humour. The solid black shapes contrast so sharply with the white of the paper, that it feels like a game of positive and negative space. Follow that zig-zag line connecting the two architectural forms. There's a real tension between the weight of those blocks and the lightness of the lines, which are holding the whole thing together. It’s a bit like a teetering balancing act, isn’t it? It reminds me of those early constructivist artists, maybe someone like El Lissitzky, who were also interested in the poetry of industry and the visual language of modern life. These artists weren't afraid to mix things up, to see where the machine and the imagination could meet. And, like all good art, it leaves you with more questions than answers, which is the fun of it, right?