Sturgeon Spear c. 1938

This is Samuel Faigin’s rendering of a Sturgeon Spear, and I'm just imagining him setting up his easel or whatever, maybe outside, maybe inside, squinting at the object. It’s not a painting, but it’s painted-feeling, if you know what I mean? Look at the way the spear spreads into three prongs, each one edged with teeth. You can see how Faigin carefully considered each serration, each curve. I wonder if he felt the weight of the object in his hand, tracing its form over and over to understand it more intimately. The drawing is so interesting to me because it takes something functional and elevates it to a site of inquiry. He's not just documenting. He's asking us to consider it slowly, carefully. I wonder if he imagined how the light would glint off the metal under water? Artists, you know, we’re always in dialogue, across generations, finding new ways to see.