The Knee Knockers 

Curator: Let’s spend a few moments contemplating “The Knee Knockers,” an oil painting attributed to Arthur Sarnoff. The scene depicts a group of men engrossed in a round of golf. What’s your initial reaction? Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the dramatic shadows and the flattened perspective. There’s almost a tension created by the contrast between the deep greens of the course and the solid block of the sand trap in the background. Curator: A fitting contrast, considering the leisure activity captured was almost certainly available to a specific socio-economic demographic during the mid-twentieth century. It prompts questions about labor and access to resources. One wonders who these men are, and what societal structures afforded them the time for such activities. Editor: I appreciate your point, yet I see the forms, colors and brushstrokes. Note how Sarnoff uses a limited palette and loose brushwork to define shapes rather than minute details. The slightly hazy atmosphere almost dissolves the figures into the landscape. The composition seems carefully balanced. Curator: Balanced, perhaps, yet what is absent? Where are the laborers who maintain this idyllic scene? This omission speaks volumes about the social realities of the time and the artist's intended audience, often white, middle- to upper-class men like the golfers pictured. Editor: While your focus on the socio-economic is valid, consider the dynamism in the composition! The strong diagonal shadows intersect with the horizontal plane of the green. The eye is led from the golfer taking his shot right through to the figures awaiting their turn. There is almost a snapshot quality here, isn't there? Curator: Indeed. Understanding art is always to analyze what the ‘snapshot’ omits from its frame. Editor: Ultimately, a successful artwork prompts us to reflect. Curator: It reveals what our social systems would prefer we overlook.