Bureaulamp van Willem Drees 1910 - 1950

This anonymous lamp, once owned by Willem Drees, looks as if it was made for drawing, for getting up close and personal with the page. I bet the maker started with the arm, expanding and contracting that accordion of metal again and again, watching the form emerge. I can feel the tension, trying to keep all of those parts in proportion, to find a balance. What a job! But also, what a pleasure to see it come together. It reminds me of Eva Hesse, who also understood how modular forms can make a kind of system, always with room for expansion and contraction, both physical and emotional. And the lamp itself—that perfectly curved form, directing the light to the place where it’s needed most. It’s really the perfect painter’s tool, directing attention, keeping us going into the wee hours.