Watch and Case c. 1937

Harry G. Aberdeen created the artwork "Watch and Case," a meticulously detailed drawing with watercolor and graphite on paper. The eye is immediately drawn to the warm, golden tones of the watch itself, contrasted against the neutral background. Aberdeen employs a systematic composition, dividing the sheet into quadrants that isolate elements of the watch's construction. These include the assembled watch, its inner workings, a mechanism study and cross-section, which reduces the object into structural components. Each element is rendered with clarity, emphasizing the linear precision and graphic quality of the drawing. The visual presentation destabilizes conventional notions of representation. It moves beyond mere depiction, functioning as a dissection of timekeeping and a semiotic analysis of an object. Ultimately, the work questions how the function and form merge, and how we ascribe value and meaning through their design.