Phantoms c. 1945

Editor: Here we have Stella Drabkin’s print "Phantoms", dating back to around 1945. I find its graphic quality, likely an etching and drawing in graphite, simultaneously energetic and desolate. What stands out to you when you consider the materiality and production of this image? Curator: It's a great observation. I see a focus on process—the layers of etching and the application of graphite. How do these materials and the labor involved reflect or critique the societal context of post-war America, particularly concerning entertainment and class? Notice the crowd in the background, separated from the spectacle of the race itself. Editor: It is striking how detached and uniform they appear; Almost as though the viewers are less important than the race. Does the use of materials speak to that hierarchy? Curator: Absolutely. The mechanical process of printmaking—reproducing this image—mirrors the mass spectacle of the racetrack. Consider the etching, allowing for repetition and distribution. What commentary might this mass production, this dissemination of an image, be making about art and labor at the time? Are we looking at a critical depiction of the leisure industry itself? Editor: I hadn’t considered how the act of reproducing the image might itself be a form of social commentary on mass production, and the economic realities and distractions it entails. The layers of graphite seem to imply even greater mechanical intervention with the printing. Curator: Indeed. It forces us to rethink the division between "high art" and accessible imagery by considering what's physically put into creating "Phantoms". This consideration gives us insight into a wider sphere of consumption, leisure and entertainment that affects more than one type of class and how materials make all of it possible. Editor: I see how considering the medium reshapes how we understand its message about labor and distraction, while highlighting a new meaning behind accessibility to leisure! Thanks!