Proposed treatment for roller rink, Elizabeth, N.J.] [Wall elevations, alpine scheme 1941

Editor: Here we have Winold Reiss’s "Proposed treatment for roller rink, Elizabeth, N.J.] [Wall elevations, alpine scheme" from 1941. It looks like it’s made of drawings and acrylic paint on paper. What immediately jumps out is the almost playful way the alpine scene is rendered above these architectural elevations... almost like a kid doodling mountains. What do you make of it? Curator: Playful, yes! Like peering into a dream, or a movie set from a Wes Anderson film. It's Reiss playing with expectation. A rendering isn't just a cold depiction, it’s theater! This mural sketch invites us to consider the very *idea* of escape… roller skating into an Alpine fantasy. The palette itself – those dusty pinks and turquoise blues – sings of the Art Deco era, doesn't it? Editor: Definitely Art Deco! The geometric shapes feel so deliberate. Curator: Exactly! Reiss takes these rigid geometric forms and then juxtaposes them against the sublime – those slightly cartoonish mountain peaks, a whisper of the romantic landscape tradition... yet thoroughly modern. I wonder if Reiss ever laced up a pair of skates himself? Did he envision couples gliding against this backdrop, transported for an hour or two? It's like he's injecting a dose of high art into the everyday experience, elevating even a roller rink to a space of imagination. Don’t you think so? Editor: I never would have looked at it that way! I was focused on the drawing, but you're right; the scene is almost interactive. Thanks for expanding my view! Curator: My pleasure! Art’s all about expanding our vistas, one roller rink—or majestic peak—at a time.