Street Scene, Downtown 1924

John Marin made this drawing, Street Scene, Downtown, with graphite and blue crayon on paper. Look closely, and you can see how the artist chose materials that are so very ordinary. Graphite and paper is the stuff of the office. Marin’s choice to use these materials, and to render his subject so quickly and freely, almost like shorthand, speaks to the incredible pace of modern life, in an ever-expanding city like New York. There are many artists that use pencil and paper, but they would hide it and make it look like it was effortless and perfect. Marin is showing us the effort. The quick, almost frantic marks capture the energy of the urban environment, a place of constant construction, demolition, and renewal. The speed and disposability of the materials mirrors the fleeting nature of modern experience, capturing the immediacy of a moment in time. Ultimately, Marin's sketch invites us to consider the relationship between art and the everyday, challenging the notion that art must be made with precious materials to be meaningful.