Industrial Scene 1939

Curator: "Industrial Scene" by Leon Bibel, dated 1939. A colored pencil and graphite drawing reproduced as a print. It strikes me as a strangely calm depiction of what seems like a very busy industrial plant. What do you think? Editor: It does feel still. I'm curious how you read the making of it in terms of its materials, Curator. The use of colored pencil and graphite gives it this accessible, almost naive quality despite depicting these massive structures. Curator: Exactly! Consider the economic and social climate of 1939. We see readily available materials – pencil and graphite – being used to depict, essentially, the means of industrial production. It’s not oil paint and canvas celebrating the wealthy, is it? Editor: No, it isn't! And that puts the industrial scene in a different light. Is it commenting on accessibility and democratization through materials and labor? Curator: That’s it exactly! The drawing style almost elevates the working class’s connection to these spaces, both practically in labor and through its artistic means, which contrast the grand scale with approachable media. Do you think that relationship between form and context reinforces its meaning? Editor: Absolutely. The artist's choice seems quite deliberate, and makes me consider it more thoughtfully than if it were a huge, photorealistic painting. This drawing emphasizes the materials’ role as both subject and object, especially that connection of workers to these imposing, looming plants. It is really intriguing! Curator: It’s about making visible those power dynamics through the materials themselves. Editor: I hadn’t considered the materials speaking so clearly until now. Curator: It's something to keep in mind: How is an artwork made and how does that affect what the work says?