House of Knights of Malta 1928

Curator: It's interesting how unfinished this appears; it feels like a ghost of a city, so present and yet ephemeral. Editor: That’s quite apt, especially when considering that what we are seeing is Henry Rushbury's 1928 pencil drawing, "House of Knights of Malta." Curator: Ah, yes! Looking closely, one immediately perceives a certain Neoclassical influence, not just in the architecture, but also perhaps the idealized vision of urban life presented here. Editor: Right, Rushbury's perspective captures the grandeur while subtly hinting at the disruptions inherent in urban spaces and the act of building itself; notice the scaffolding and incomplete construction. This very visible state of continuous becoming reminds me a bit of Walter Benjamin's musings on ruins and progress. The built environment is ever changing, impacting the populations who navigate this place. Curator: Indeed. And the artist captures that tension effectively, with these figures rendered more as silhouettes than distinct personalities; almost symbols in their own right within the wider composition. Are they walking, trading, working? There’s something universally evocative in their facelessness; we all, in essence, become archetypes reflected by urban experience. Editor: Absolutely, there’s an underlying critique of who gets to experience that supposed grandeur in the way these people are being represented and framed. Curator: Do you believe that a connection with past traditions is inherently an obstacle to actual societal progress? Editor: Not at all. I am drawn more towards understanding and acknowledging whose historical narratives are made more valuable and visible than others. It's always critical to ask how different narratives are being privileged. Curator: A fitting observation in our search for shared experiences of seeing; that we are both shaped by—and, in turn, continue to shape—our cities. Editor: I agree. And Rushbury's choice of rendering this scene in pencil almost makes us feel like we are uncovering, layer by layer, the stratified meanings held within urban architecture.