Motorcycle [verso] 1918

Curator: This is "Motorcycle [verso]", a quick drawing made around 1918 by John Singer Sargent. It's a very simple sketch. Editor: My immediate reaction is...speed and lightness. There's almost nothing *there*, just the barest lines suggesting the form of a motorcycle. It looks like a fleeting thought captured on paper. Curator: Absolutely, I see a potent symbol of modernity emerging right after the horrors of the first World War. Motorcycles embody the exhilarating promise of freedom, speed, and individual agency. They speak of dynamism in contrast to static forms and traditional values of that time. Editor: Interesting. My attention is drawn to how efficiently Sargent uses so little material to convey so much. The whole image feels almost ephemeral. You can practically feel the vibration and potential of the machine rendered with just a few strokes of graphite, right? Curator: The lines, or lack thereof, might tell us more about what this new technology and mechanization means during wartime. Is Sargent highlighting a potentially volatile invention? The choice of a motorcycle over another means of transportation is critical, as its symbolic meanings change in real time. Editor: You raise a crucial point about volatility. Thinking materially, consider the tension between the sketch's delicacy and the heavy, manufactured reality of a motorcycle. It highlights that artmaking too has its own form of physical exertion behind it. Curator: Exactly! Consider the contrast against his more formal and academic portraits too, one wonders if sketching was his way of finding something closer to his actual experience, one where he feels most expressive? Editor: Well, for me it draws attention to the nature of sketches: works in progress, material ideas on the way to something else. Thanks to it, we got another intimate view to what went on behind the mind of Sargent. Curator: Agreed. Ultimately, this sketch offers a glimpse into the psychological landscape of a rapidly changing world through a commonplace, accessible piece of technology.