Seat Table c. 1939

Curator: This pencil and charcoal drawing, entitled "Seat Table," comes to us from around 1939. It's by Paul Poffinbarger. What's your immediate reaction? Editor: Well, my first impression is one of remarkable restraint and stillness. It feels very studied, almost like a portrait of this…utilitarian object. The soft gradients of the charcoal create a very calm and subdued presence, in my opinion. Curator: Indeed! It really highlights the object's function. Notice how he employs the materials – paper, pencil, and charcoal – to present the concept and construction. Look closely and you will see how the artist really focused on the nature of this thing being drawn and made: its geometry. There is such care evident in each precisely rendered wooden plane, I am led to consider not just artistic technique, but carpentry! Editor: Exactly! Poffinbarger prompts us to think about the labor inherent in the production of furniture; more than just some sterile design. He forces us to reckon with the material reality and the act of making that precedes the final product. Each pencil stroke feels almost meditative in its meticulousness. You know, there's something very human about this, despite the geometrical structure. It’s…contemplative. Curator: Precisely. I wonder what inspired Poffinbarger to choose this very simple form as a subject? Was he drawn to its innate practicality, or perhaps was he also pondering the simple beauty of handcrafted objects amidst a world of increasingly industrialized forms? Editor: It poses questions around production and domesticity; is this ‘art’ merely the vision or dream or does it depend entirely on the skills of production and manufacturing? But as an artifact on paper, as it were, do the raw materials have any value or importance? It challenges the traditional boundaries of ‘art’. Curator: Well said! His subtle choices in mark-making generate a work which ultimately prompts us to ponder a far wider spectrum of creation, utility and purpose! What more could art ask? Editor: I leave with a deeper respect for everyday objects—and those skilled hands that shaped and crafted them in wood. A very humble reflection.