Cross Bow 1935 - 1942

Curator: We’re looking now at a watercolor and charcoal drawing titled "Cross Bow," created sometime between 1935 and 1942. Editor: My first impression? Simplicity itself, rendered with the precision of an artisan dreaming of faraway hunts in darkened woods. It’s both beautiful and terrifying at once. Curator: It's intriguing to consider what the crossbow represented at that time. During those years, you have the backdrop of world events intensifying with war on the horizon. What's your view of the choice of this subject by an anonymous artist in such a time? Editor: I like the "anonymous" – it gives it an everyman quality. Maybe the artist sought to highlight how weaponry pervades human consciousness, even during times of peace… like a shadow always present just out of sight, with death so close it tingles your senses like a raindrop. What do you think of the stark contrast between the violence represented and its somewhat muted presentation here? Curator: I agree, it's subtle but potent. This sort of object could act as both a tool of power and a symbol of vulnerability, when nations re-arming after a world war was a major societal obsession. Think about the discussions, especially around propaganda in that period, too. It puts this work in an interesting place in the cultural milieu. Editor: Yes, vulnerability... You imagine the user standing completely exposed, trying to hold it still, focused and vulnerable to danger. Curator: Absolutely. Even the technique itself speaks of this period—a sense of observation of things that are usually set as weapons. I mean think about public imagery through posters at this time versus its intimate execution here. Editor: Mmm. Something is unsettling, I can’t quite name it, but this image stays with you… Perhaps the suggestion that darkness can bloom from humble beginnings. Curator: The piece holds such complexities about power, history, and its impact, even through something so elegantly drawn. Editor: Indeed, an artist's whisper holding the weight of generations, prompting the listener to reflect on how power never disappears, it simply shifts form.