Electric Converter 1935

Edward R. Burroughs made this drawing, Electric Converter, probably in the 1930s, using what looks like charcoal on paper. The whole image is built up of very short, broken marks, hatching and cross-hatching to build up the forms. The effect is restless, nothing sits still, everything vibrates with energy. I love the way he’s described the hot, grimy atmosphere of this industrial interior. The heavy forms of the machinery are softened by the steam or smoke that partly obscures them. Look at the way Burroughs renders the figure of the worker, bent double as he pulls some kind of lever or tool. His body is suggested with just a few strokes. The artist seems to be saying that the human form is almost consumed by the scale of the factory. This reminds me of Joseph Stella’s paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge, which similarly convey a sense of awe and terror at the onrush of the machine age. Art allows us to consider ambiguity. Burroughs welcomes interpretation.