-Electro-Pointer- pencil sharpener c. 1943

Curator: At the Minneapolis Institute of Art, we have a fascinating piece of product design photography by Edward Hoffman: "-Electro-Pointer- pencil sharpener," created around 1943. Editor: Strikingly sleek. Its almost cartoonish in form, the stark black of the material is juxtaposed against the way the photograph accentuates the curved shapes. What a weirdly captivating presence for a, well, a pencil sharpener! Curator: The photograph adheres to the modernist aesthetic. Notice the clean lines and reductive shapes. It highlights function while also hinting at notions of efficiency and mechanical progress. Editor: Let’s think about what it means to elevate this functional object to high art through the photographic process. What was the context of producing consumer products like pencil sharpeners at this moment, as people geared up for war efforts? Curator: Precisely. By isolating this object and emphasizing its form through lighting and composition, the photograph moves the pencil sharpener out of the realm of mere utility and into one of symbolic representation. We are meant to see an ideal. Editor: I’m interested in how it was mass-produced. Was this model created to optimize a draftsman’s output? I want to think about who would have purchased this, the types of materials and labor it implies. How does streamlining play into the sharpener's larger function? Curator: That's key: The emphasis on a clean and pure form that is a reduction to pure function. And the photo makes these elements very pronounced. Editor: Ultimately, the photograph invites me to ponder the human stories that are linked into something seemingly mundane. Curator: A point well-taken. Hopefully, visitors appreciate that at this interplay between form and content, it provokes reflection and challenges us to view everyday objects through fresh perspectives. Editor: Absolutely. By understanding how even utilitarian products like this pencil sharpener embody social, economic, and aesthetic concerns, we unlock new interpretations of even our ordinary possessions.