Morning c. 1939

Curator: Right, let's discuss "Morning," a circa 1939 etching by Joseph Leboit. It depicts two fowl, rendered in striking detail. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: Unease. It's not the pastoral dawn one might expect. The stark black lines create a sense of agitation, almost violence. You can feel the grit of the printing process itself. Curator: Indeed. Roosters often symbolize vigilance and courage, announcing the dawn. But here, that symbolism seems inverted, the scene less about a peaceful awakening and more about…confrontation? Editor: Look at the lines! Leboit uses incredibly dense hatching to create depth, especially in the tail feathers. You see the physical labor involved; that deliberate, repeated action biting into the plate. What kind of labor was Leboit doing? Was he under the Federal Art Project, carving out a new role for the artist? Curator: Good questions. During the Depression, artists wrestled with portraying reality and social change. These birds, then, can be more than farm animals. They're ciphers, vessels containing an unsettled quality; perhaps embodying social unrest, the precariousness of life during economic hardship. The imagery reflects anxieties permeating society. Editor: Or maybe Leboit simply used what was on hand – fowl from the barnyard! It still makes one wonder, though, how access to materials influenced the work during that era. Cheaper papers? Readily available inks? These constraints would affect artists deeply. Curator: Of course, those conditions shaped his work. But consider also the tradition Leboit engages with – the bestiary. Animals as stand-ins for human traits, for social critique…he draws upon that deep well. Editor: Alright, the symbolic interpretation certainly lends a darker resonance, knowing how these images persist culturally. Curator: Ultimately, this etching achieves a compelling tension, making one rethink such a conventional and hopeful motif: morning. Editor: Exactly. The texture and materials alone complicate any straightforward reading, disrupting simplistic narratives about the artwork itself.