Pierced Tin Lantern c. 1941

Edward D. Williams made this pierced tin lantern sometime in the past, but when exactly is a mystery. The drawing is all about seeing how the thing is made, the placement of each little dot a record of the maker's touch. The way he’s rendered the metallic surface with these thin lines, it's like he’s feeling the form as much as seeing it. There's an intimacy to the process, a real connection to the material. Look at the top of the lantern, how the light seems to radiate outward from each opening. You can almost feel the warmth. It reminds me of some of Agnes Martin’s grids. Maybe it's the quiet repetition, the handmade quality, a reminder that art is often at its most powerful when it slows us down, inviting us to really see. This lantern drawing is like a little poem about light and shadow.