Jockey Hitching Post 1935 - 1942

Editor: Here we have an anonymous drawing from between 1935 and 1942, called "Jockey Hitching Post." The figure stands rigidly, and there’s something about the intense stare and the raised hand that gives me pause. What's your take on it? Curator: The hitching post is a very loaded symbol. While appearing as a quaint, almost innocuous image of labor, we need to interrogate what this 'genre painting' truly represents. Images such as these were commonly used to signify and reinforce power structures based on race and class during this time period. Editor: So you are saying that the drawing itself might not just be a simple depiction? Curator: Exactly. How does the artistic rendering and visual language support or subvert existing stereotypes of the time? Note how the jockey, almost invariably a Black man, is made to stand and wait. He becomes a living monument of subservience, fixed and frozen in a perpetual state of service. What does this immobilization suggest about freedom and agency? Editor: That is very insightful! The pose seemed like it was simply representational, but I now understand how it relates to broader issues. It certainly complicates my first reaction. Curator: And doesn’t it raise questions about whose history is memorialized, and at what cost? It’s vital we acknowledge the complex layers of social, historical and political influences when interpreting this drawing. Editor: Thank you so much. This conversation helped reveal nuances I wasn't aware of. It definitely offers a richer understanding of this artwork, and its place within a wider cultural narrative.