Dance Moccasins 1935

Michael Trekur made this drawing of "Dance Moccasins" in 1935 with coloured pencil. He’s taken these objects, dance moccasins from the Zuni tribe, and depicted them head on with what feels like a very direct gaze. I find myself thinking about the way that colour operates within this drawing. There’s a slightly translucent rendering in the way he’s layered the colours, especially in the body of the moccasins, and that gives the piece a sense of lightness. Look at the way the blue-green almost glows against the warm off-white background of the page, making the subject matter appear weightless. There's a real attention to detail here, in the laces and embellishments, it's a beautiful meditation on a handcrafted object. It feels like a cousin to some of Marsden Hartley’s paintings, in the frankness of approach and the flat rendering. Like Hartley, the work invites quiet contemplation, reminding us that art is as much about careful looking as it is about doing.