Charleston Christmas 

Editor: This is a drawing and print by Cynthia Willard Iliff, titled "Charleston Christmas." The precise date isn't available, but I'm really struck by the artist's skillful use of pencil to create such a detailed composition, but the light seems a bit dramatic and it flattens out areas so the piece can also read as quite abstract. How do you interpret this work, looking closely at its form? Curator: Well, if we examine the formal relationships, we can see a very deliberate structuring. Notice how Iliff uses contrasting values, the deep blacks against the stark whites, to create a dynamic tension, a visual rhythm almost. Editor: It definitely draws the eye around the image. Curator: Precisely! Consider, too, how the archway motif repeats throughout, framing the figures and floral arrangements, almost compartmentalizing the visual field. Does this repetition create a sense of unity, or fragmentation, do you think? Editor: I think the repetition helps the composition, but the dramatic shift in the point of view, between the women and the doorway seems disorienting and I am unsure how to "read" this drawing because it switches scale in an odd way. Curator: An excellent point! The juxtaposition of scales introduces a compelling element of visual dissonance. Look at how she’s used shading and line. See how she has these "streamers" coming from the flowers on top of the subject's head. It’s these very deliberate artistic choices, the calculated deployment of formal elements, that give the work its particular potency. What are we to make of that compositional tension? Editor: Thinking about how those compositional choices evoke conflicting emotions, perhaps they add to the work's depth. Curator: Indeed. The strength lies within Iliff's attention to line and shading!