Policeman Hand Puppet c. 1938

Curator: Here we have Florian Rokita’s “Policeman Hand Puppet,” circa 1938, a drawing rendered in graphite, pencil, and charcoal. Editor: My first impression is, well, delightfully unsettling. The rendering is quite precise, but the subject matter… that uncanny valley feeling hits hard, doesn’t it? He looks almost… spectral, somehow both present and absent at once. Curator: I agree. What fascinates me is how the chosen media amplify that unsettling effect. The artist is dealing with representations of power, yet utilizing materials commonly associated with sketches or studies. It diminishes the authoritarian role. Editor: It makes me think about the hands that would have animated him, the stories told, the audience it was made for. Puppets were – are – instruments of storytelling and often carry deep cultural weight. Imagine the kinds of tales this little guy told, especially around the time it was made. Did it make fun of figures of authority? Curator: Indeed. And if we consider the materiality – paper, graphite, charcoal, humble materials. Consider where Rokita was exhibiting, for whom he made the art. His probable access to materials would then frame what and how he produced artworks like this one. Editor: So true. It transforms the figure, it imbues it with vulnerability even when the intent was to display something more…rigid, more unfeeling. And the hat, slightly too vibrant for the face? Is it simply decoration or a political dig? Curator: Exactly! By using these mediums, it almost makes him a caricature, but not in a completely negative way. The medium offers layers to decode, to deconstruct narratives of power or assumptions embedded into an authoritative figure. Editor: It makes you ponder the artist's mindset as they brought him to life. All those faint graphite lines – it breathes some warmth into the cop. He might seem fierce, yet it gives a sense of longing. Curator: Thinking about the processes inherent to a medium is key. Consider charcoal smudging easily, perhaps referencing not permanence, which makes this work even more impactful when thinking about the long-standing impacts of law enforcement, both real and perceived. Editor: Indeed. I guess the beauty lies in that duality, the shadow play, so to speak. We are looking at a crafted depiction of authority which opens space to see, really see and reflect. Curator: Absolutely, from materiality to means of production to themes.